The Great Uprise
by Enma Kasei
Summary: When Kasei Enma gets sent to the human world to find Kurosaki Ichigo, he stumbles across what may be the greatest threat to the Soul Society and the human world ever. But he also finds a group of old friends, and a girl. Rated T for language, TatsukixOC
1. Chapter 1: The Mission Begins

**Hey People, it's me, Enma. This is my first fanfic, so it might not be really good. I still hope you enjoy it. My thanks to Sir Eagle for Beta-ing, and Tite Kubo for creating Bleach. Oh yeah, I came up with Enma before I made my profile, so my profile's named after him, and he's not based on me. It takes place after Aizen's betrayal, but I've still got to figure out what exact moment.**

**I do not own Bleach, and if any names might seem familiar, it's probably just coincidence.**

Seireitei

A young man wakes up after a small hour of sleep, quickly sweeping a hand through his ruffled hair. His appearance was nothing strange, except for the colour of his eyes and hair, whereas the hair was a metallic grey, and his eyes were a bright yellow.

Enma Kasei, unranked 11th Division member of the Gotei 13, got out of his bed after a horrible night.

_'Ugh, what a night,' _he thought. '_I didn't sleep at all, with most of the other guys partying downstairs. I hope that they'll celebrate the captain's birthday elsewhere next year.'_

The night before, Captain Zaraki threw a party, which had lasted all night... "Seriously, I do NOT like it here." he muttered to himself, a habit he developed during one of his missions where he had been alone for a week.

"I thought it would be fun here, but all these guys do is drink and fight. I always get these boring missions, usually stuff like standing guard. And after all these years, I still wonder what's with the weird dislike of Kido? I mean, what's so cowardly about it"

Enma had always been very fond of Kido, ever since he first used it during training. The sensation of power flowing through his arms and unleashing a powerful Hado spell, blasting a hollow to smithereens had always been kind of a kick for him.

"Well, enough thinking, I've got some training to do," he says to himself as he grabs his Zanpakutou and leaves his room.

After a few minutes of walking, he reached the training grounds.

"Seems they've already started," Enma muttered to himself as he walked into the training grounds. "Well, better get busy," he said, looking around for a suitable partner. Then he saw the vice-captain. That little girl still amazed him, even after all those years in the 11th Division.

"That must mean the captain is near too," he muttered, but then, as Vice-captain Kusajishi noticed him, she waved at him, jumped up and ran off.

_'What was that?'_ he thought. Then he heard the bells. Acting on instinct, he unsheathed his Zanpakutou, blocking a strike from the giant man who was standing behind him. If he hadn't, he would have been slashed from neck to crotch. Quickly standing up (the power behind the strike had driven him onto his knees) he saluted the giant man standing in front of him.

"Nice block. Kasei, right?" Captain Zaraki Kenpachi asked him.

"Y-yes, sir," he replied. Ever since he first saw him, he had been scared of the huge man. He wasn't the only one. It kind of seemed that the only people not afraid of Kenpachi were the Vice-captain, the 3rd seat and the 5th seat.

"We've got a mission for you. Well, rather, I've got a mission for you," the captain said. "It's the substitute Shinigami, Kurosaki Ichigo."

"I'd like to go myself, as I'd like to fight him again. Too bad the Old Fart said I couldn't, 'cause he'd probably just run away as soon as he saw me." Everyone in the Seireitei had heard about the battle between the Captain and Kurosaki, as they almost killed each other. Kurosaki was the first person in a long time to be able to stand up against captain Zaraki.

"Ok, I'll go take a look, but what to do when I find him?"

"Fight him," Zaraki replied with a wicked grin.

"F...fight him?" Enma asked, shocked?

"Yeah, why not? I wanna see if he's still in a state worth fighting. He probably hasn't fought anything but random hollows for a long time." Zaraki said. "Why'd you ask? Scared?" He laughed, because an afraid 11th division member was a... "Coward! I'll find someone else."

Enma stared at the ground for a minute, his emotions and thoughts racing. This was his perfect chance to prove himself, maybe even obtain a seat. But fighting a guy who was the captain's equal? Did the possible reward weigh up against the risk? _'No, I shouldn't be afraid. This is my chance to prove myself.' _he thought.

"I'll do it," He said to the captain. "I'll make sure you take those words back, captain. I'm no coward."

"Good. Now start packing, or I'll attack you again. You leave tomorrow, first thing in the morning."

Enma grabbed his Zanpakutou and walked back to the Barracks. _'I need a bottle of sake after this' _he thought, a little shocked by the sudden request.

The next morning Enma left through the Senkaimon. As he arrived in the Human World, he suddenly noticed on of the things he never got used to. The gate's nasty habit of placing it's exit about 20 meters above the ground. As he started falling he focused his spiritual power under his feet, which allowed him to to walk on air.

"Phew," he said to himself "I will never really get used to that."

As Enma lowered himself onto the ground he wondered where he would have to start... At that moment he realized something he should have noticed a long time ago. The captain didn't tell him where to start looking for the kid.

Just as he was about to start looking, he heard someone scream. '_A scream, this early in the morning?'_ He thought._ 'Something must be wrong.'_ Then he sensed the reiatsu. It was a hollow. "Dammit!" he yelled as he ran towards the source of the reiatsu.

As he arrived he saw a huge bat-like hollow attacking a young girl. As he came closer, the girl tripped, and just as the hollow was about to eat her, he unsheathed his Zanpakutou and lunged at the hollow. But before his blade reached the flesh, the hollow jumped off. Enma swore and ran after it. As he chased the hollow, he yelled:

_"Ye lord! Mask of flesh and bone, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! Truth and temperance, upon this sinless wall of dreams unleash but slightly the wrath of your claws. Hado 33: __**Sōkatsui!**__"_

As he finished the incantation, a large blast of light-blue energy shot out of his hand, towards the hollow. But then something happened that Enma didn't anticipate. Little green toad-like hollows crawled out of the big one's fur and jumped into the blue beam, taking the damage for the big one.

_'Dammit'_ Enma thought._ 'I've heard about this kind of hollow. They're supposed to be really smart. Let's hope I'm smarter...'_

As he closed in on the hollow, he saw some of the little 'familiars' sitting on a wall. All of a sudden, they started shooting leeches from cavaties in their heads. As Enma tried to dodge them, one of them struck his leg, and another one struck his arm.

The hollow laughed, and turned around to face Enma. "Hah! You've fallen straight into my trap," it spoke.

It stuck out his tongue, and as Enma wondered what sort of childish gesture that was, he heard a sharp sound. Suddenly, the leeches exploded, and pain shot through his right leg and arm. "Those leeches are bombs, you idiot! They respond to the sound of my tongue. I make the sound, they go BOOOM! How do you like it?" The hollow moved in closer, as he tought Enma didn't pose any danger, with his sword hand wounded. "I've eaten a Shinigami before... I must say, he was deeee-licious. I hope you'll taste the same..."

Enma chuckled. "What's so funny?" The hollow asked.

"Your stupidity." Enma replied as he suddenly got up, slashing the hollow though half.

"Phew... Those bombs hurt, but luckily he didn't harm me seriously." he said to himself as he rubbed his painful arm.

He walked back to the girl who was being chased. As he got closer, he noticed something. She wasn't dead, because there was no chain hanging from her chest. He got a good look at her. Short black hair, brown eyes and a school uniform.

"Hey, you ok?" he asked, both to find out if she really was alright, and to see if she could actually see him. "Yeah," she replied.

"What's your name?" Enma asked, a little surprised she really could see him.

"Arisawa Tatsuki," She replied. "Thanks for helping me."

Enma smiled. "No problem. It's my job, and I couldn't just stand by and watch a young girl like yourself get hurt. I'm Kasei Enma. Nice to meet you."

He sat down next to her. Then something popped up in his mind.

"Hey, you can see me, right? Do you know someone by the name of Kurosaki Ichigo, by any chance?"

"Yes, I do. Are you looking for him? I could give you some directions if you would like?"

"If you could, I'd appreciate it." He said with a smile. As she told him where to find Kurosaki, he thanked her, and walked off.

**Well, So far for the first chapter of my Fanfic. If you've got any tips for me, review or PM me. **

**Once again, thank you Sir Eagle. I hope y'all are looking forward to the next chapter!**


	2. Chapter 2: Enter Kurosaki

**Well, here we are again. My next chapter. This time I tried to add some more action, and I also tried to show the characters' personalities (Enma mostly) a bit more. I hope you all enjoy it. Once again, the disclaimer. I do not own Bleach or any of the related titles or characters. I hope I'll be able to reveal more about the story next time.**

Karakura town

"Phew." Enma said to himself. According to the directions he got from Arisawa Tatsuki, he was supposed to be near Kurosaki Ichigo's place. It was really a good thing he stumbled across that girl. Probably saved him hours of searching.

"Should be 'round here somewhere... Ah, there it is!" He said as he saw a house with a big sign saying 'Kurosaki Clinic'. "Hard to miss that. Why would a clinic have such a colorful sign?" he wondered.

As he was thinking about it, a Shinigami with bright orange hair and a huge cleaver on his back jumped out of one of the building's windows, followed by a girl with short black hair. She was wearing a school uniform, so Enma covered his eyes, just out of respect. As he watched them run, he felt the presence of a hollow.

_'That must be where they're headed, and those two have to be Kuchiki Rukia and Kurosaki Ichigo... I'd better catch up with them.'_ he thought as he ran after them. Just before he caught up with them, they took a turn, and there it was.

**One. Freaking. HUGE. Hollow.**

And a large group of children near him.

_'Fuck! Unless one of us speeds up, we're never gonna get there in time. Those kids are gonna get eaten!'_ Enma thought. The Kurosaki kid must have been thinking the same thing as Enma, as took that oversized sword of his off his back, and shouted: "**Getsuga Tensho!**"

Enma felt a huge burst of spiritual energy as a wide, blue blast of pure reishi was flying towards the hollow, cutting it's mask through half. As the hollow vanished, Enma felt impressed at the sheer power of the attack. Still, he felt quite relieved. The captain must have been right, Kurosaki had gotten a little rusty. Although the attack was strong, there was no way that could have fought at par with the captain. That being said, he was still miles from the captain himself. He was still scared, but he swallowed his fear as he approached the duo, saying: "You must be Kurosaki Ichigo and Kuchiki Rukia, or my memory must be seriously lacking."

"Yeah, that's us." Kurosaki spoke with a rebellious attitude "You're dressed like a Shinigami. Whaddaya want?"

Enma's started grinning and as he unsheathed his Zanpakutou and pointed it at Kurosaki, he said "I was asked by a certain person to come here and fight ya. He liked the fight the last time, and wanted to see if you hadn't gone rusty. He thought it wouldn't be enough fun to kill you if ya couldn't fight at his level anymore. Can you guess who it is?"

"Ugh..." Ichigo said "You're with the 11th Division, aren't you? You're probably a lot like this _person_, as the first thing you talk about is fighting, and those words have Zaraki Kenpachi's name written all over them. Well then, if you want to fight that badly, let's go."

"W-wait!" It was Kuchiki. "You can't just fight in the middle of the street like this!"

"Of course we can! You did the same thing just now!" Enma said, and as soon as he was finished he charged at Kurosaki.

In fact, Enma didn't feel comfortable doing this. Not at all. He was scared, down to his core. But he had to fight. He had to protect his pride.

_'A coward, eh, Zaraki? I'll make you take those words back. NO-ONE calls me a coward!"_

His first attack was only just blocked by a surprised Ichigo, but now the substitute Shinigami was ready for him, and he started attacking just as fast as Enma. Enma was fast, but Kurosaki was faster, as he suddenly ducked and tried to stab Enma from below. Enma was only just able to jump to the side, but the attack still gave him a nasty cut, just below his right ribs. "That was a little too close for comfort," Enma said, as the wound stung like hell.

"Enough playing around, I'm going to get serious now too."

He brought the blade up to his face with both hands and shouted: "Break the foundations of the world!"

"**Yochihakaisha!**" (1)

The sudden outbreak of energy sent dust flying everywhere, blinding Kurosaki and Kuchiki. As they opened their eyes, Enma was just standing there. No weapon, no visible effect, nothing.

"Huh? What happened?" Kurosaki mumbled softly.

"You wanna know what happened? You just lost every chance of beating me!" Enma said. He still wasn't feeling very comfortable, but his Shikai state always gave him a rush of confidence. As soon as he finished talking, he dissapeared, leaving nothing but a little dust behind.

"Where'd he go?" Ichigo said.

"Pay more attention! If you don't speed up, I'll kill ya! **Kaen **(3)!" A voice spoke behind him. Enma knew they were big words, but he didn't care. As Ichigo felt a sharp burning pain in his back, he was sent skidding across the pavement.

As he looked up again, he saw Enma standing where he had just stood a few seconds ago. Well, more like floating. He was hanging a few inches above the ground. His appearance had changed as well. On his hands, Ichigo saw bright orange flames burning, and where his eyes had been a bright yellow before, they were now a deeper gold, and shining with a hidden fire.

"Hmpf. Flight and fire, that's quite something. But not enough. You caught me off-guard a few moments ago, but you're going down now." Kurosaki said.

As he took a stance for bankai, Enma thought _'Oh __**FUCK.**__ I have to stop him some way. If he releases his bankai, It's bye-bye for me.' _He gathered his confidence, sneered and said: "You need bankai to beat a regular Shinigami? Wuss! You're not even trying!"

"He's right, Ichigo!" Rukia yelled. "You've been relying on bankai way too much! Try beating him without using it!"

_'Thank you Kuchiki Rukia, thank you.'_

"Alright. I don't need bankai to beat you. Bring it on!'

As the fight continued, both of them landed hits on the other, but because Enma's attacks were fire based, and he didn't use a sword, he was only able to punch Ichigo, and thus unable to inflict any serious wounds besides some burns. Then Ichigo noticed something. Kasei's wounds weren't bleeding.

_'Why isn't he bleeding? Must be some sort of trick... Well, let's see if he can stop the bleeding when he's dead!' _Ichigo thought. He yelled: "**Getsuga Tensho!**", sending another bright blue blast at Enma. It struck head on.

"That should've done it. Come on Rukia, we should take him some help before he bleeds to death," Ichigo said. But as he came closer to the cloud of smoke created by his Getsuga Tensho, something came flying by, punching him in his stomach on the run. Stunned, he fell to his knees.

"That was impressive, I must say," Enma's voice spoke from behind him. Ichigo noticed he was trembling. "But you were still holding back. I can feel your reiatsu, kid. You weren't even trying. Still, it would have cut me in half if I wouldn't have had Yochihakaisha's defensive powers. I'm impressed."

As Ichigo got back to his feet, he noticed something about Enma's uncovered arms (2). Instead of flesh, they were made out of a brown-grey rock, and they had a blackened stripe across them, probably where Getsuga Tensho hit. _'Damn that Kurosaki! Even though Yochihakaisha protects me, it still hurts like hell.'_

"Lucky I was able to activate my **Chou **(3). Let me tell you a little bit about Yochihakaisha. In Shikai, he grants me slight control over all four elements. Earth for defense, **Chou**, Fire for attack, **Kaen**, Wind for speed, **Hae **(3), and Water for enhanced perception and bodily functions. He also helps me stop the bleeding of__wounds, see? That's called **Shuu **(3). Still hurts though. Wish he would finally fix that, but he's too lazy to do so." He showed Ichigo one of the wounds, who noticed the bloodstream was just going on like nothing had happened. "But enough talking, le-"

Suddenly, Enma's head jacked backwards. "I sense... A hollow... Come on, Kurosaki. Although I'd love to keep fighting you, this is more urgent. We've got work to do." Enma said, running off. _'Saved by the bell. I never thought I would be this happy with a hollow. Wait. Is that even an ethical thing to think?'_

"Hey, wait! You can't just run off like that in the middle of a fight!" Kurosaki said.

"Yes, I can." _'Thank god I can. I wouldn't be able to go on like that for long. I'm really damned tired.' _"I sensed a hollow. Your order should be coming in right about..." _Ring, ring _"now. If we keep fighting, that hollow might hurt innocent bystanders. I know, I know, I'm tired too, but no more time for small talk, let's go."

"He's right, Ichigo." Rukia said. "There's a hollow nearby. We should follow him."

As they ran through the streets of Karakura town, they arrived at a building site. There were at least four hollows there.

_'Damn... That's a lot of hollows. Let's hope I can take them on without passing out from exhaustion.' _Enma thought, breathing heavily.

But before Ichigo could even draw his sword, Enma had already started with the first hollow. He grabbed the evil soul by the hips with one hand, and put the other under the beings armpits. Then, with a mighty pull, he ripped it in two.

_'One! That was easy, but I think that fight lasted a little too long.'_

When Ichigo arrived, the hollows, Enma had already grabbed a second hollow by the throat. As he put his other hand onto the being's mask, he pushed as hard as he could, causing the second hollow's head to explode in a fountain of brains and blood.

_'Two! I'm starting to feel my muscles ache now...'_

As Ichigo cut down hollow number three, he saw Enma drop-kicking the fourth hollow, and then introducing the monster's head to his heels.

_'That's three and four. We made a bloody mess, but I can worry about that later... Whoa... I'm feeling light-headed...' _Enma thought as he felt his legs start shaking.

_'Damn, that kid's fast.'_ Ichigo thought.

"Ugh... That was tiring." Enma said. "Well... As long as no-one got hu – ugh..." He collapsed.

"Huh?" Ichigo was a little surprised. "What just happened?"

"As I thought," Rukia said "The combination of having to concentrate on stopping his blood loss and taking out three hollows in a row after your fight has completely worn him out."

"Damn." Ichigo swore, "Now he's knocked out, his Zanpakutou wil return to his sealed state. The wounds can start bleeding any second now."

"True. We should take him to Urahara." Rukia said.

"Yeah, good idea. Even though I don't like him, this would be one pathetic way to die for someone like him." Ichigo said as he picked him up and threw him over his shoulder.

**Urahara Shop**

As Enma came by, he looked around, and noticed he was no longer on the building site. The last thing he remembered was a group of hollows. After that, everything was blank.

"Where am I?" he mumbled to himself.

"Heeeeeey! You're awake! Welcome to the Urahara shop!" a voice spoke. One of the doors in the room opened, revealing a man, seemingly somewhere in his thirties, with ruffled light-blond hair sticking out from underneath a bucket hat, which almost fully covered his eyes.

_'God, that guy is creepy...'_ Enma thought. "Yeah, apparently I am. Who're you?" he asked.

"My name is Kisuke Urahara. You must be Kasei Enma, right?"

"Yeah. How do you know? Oh, of course. Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san, huh?"

"Yep. You're smarter than you look, especially for an 11th Division member." Enma didn't know if it was a compliment or an insult. "The wounds you got from Kurosaki were deeper then they__seemed. Tessai and I patched you up."

Enma had no idea who this Tessai was, but still he said "Then you and Tessai-san have my thanks. But where's Kurosaki? I want to apologize for my behaviour, earlier this day."

"Well, actually...You've been asleep for a day. The wounds Kurosaki-san gave you were pretty serious. I'm surprised you were actually capable of beating those hollows. But still," Urahara said, a creepy grin reappearing on his face. "When you passed out, Kurosaki-san and Kuchiki-san had to carry you back here. If you want to thank him, or apologize, he's downstairs. We'll see what his reaction is."

"Ok, I'll go take a look. Thanks again." Enma said as he stood up. He grunted as he felt the first wound, the cut underneath his ribs, give him a nasty sting.

A few moments later, Enma was wandering around the store. "He said downstairs, but I can't see any stairs..." Enma muttered to himself.

"You're looking for the stairs, Kasei-san?" a huge voice spoke from behind him. As he turned around, he saw a huge man, easily 6"6, standing behind him. "Ah, I believe we haven't been introduced yet. My name is Tessai Tsukabishi."

"Ah, so you are Tessai-san. Urahara-san told me you helped heal my wounds. Thanks for that."

"It was no problem at all. Now, you wanted to get to the basement? Follow me, please." Tessai said as he walked through another door, which led them to what appeared to be the shop entrance. Enma noticed two children sweeping outside. Well, one was sweeping, the other was swinging his broom around, apparently indulged into in some sort of crazy fantasy.

"Step aside for a moment, please." Tessai said. As Enma snapped back to his own situation, he got out of the way, as Tessai effortlessly pushed the shop's counter aside, revealing a small square hole in the floor. As Enma was about to climb down the ladder, Tessai said: "It's a long climb, and you're wounded. Just climb on my back, I'll carry you downstairs."

A few moments later, Enma was feeling a little strange, sitting on the large man's shoulders. This discomfort faded into awe as they climbed down into a huge room, at least five times the size of the shop itself, and completely decorated and painted like the outside world.

As they got to the ground, Enma got off Tessai's shoulders and muttered: "Who made this..."

Tessai heard him and replied: "The manager and I did. Do... you like it?"

"Do I like it?" Suddenly Enma brightened up and started grinning. "I love it! This is awesome! Wow... If I had known about this, I would have stepped by! And you guys made it? That's amazing!"

Out of nowhere, Tessai started crying and said "Th-thank you! Truly, thank you."

Enma, still grinning like an idiot, thanked Tessai for helping him, and started looking for Ichigo. Suddenly, he felt an outburst of reiatsu, and the rock to his right exploded, causing a rain of sand and small stones.

"Hey, watch out when you blow something up!" Enma yelled. "Sorry!" a voice yelled back from somewhere inside the cloud of dust. As Kurosaki Ichigo emerged from the large cloud of dust, he saw Enma and said: "Oh, it's you. How are your wounds?"

"I'm fine, thanks. Listen... I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I didn't really want to fight you to start with, and even though I acted tough, I was scared every second of the fight. I'm really sorry. It's just that, when I noticed you had indeed gotten a little rusty, like my captain said, I was a little relieved. But you were still way out of my league. Zaraki called me a coward, and I never forget something like that. I wanted to prove myself, and tried not looking scared. So I started acting like an ass. Once again, sorry, for the challenge, as well as the verbal abuse I threw your way."

Ichigo was silent for a moment.

"Don't worry about it." He said with a slight smile on his face. "I know how scary Zaraki is. I would have done the same if I were you. And you were right, I've gotten a little out of shape. But what really surprised me was that, according to Rukia, you aren't a seated officer. How come? You're pretty fast, and although I'm not really good with reiatsu control, I can feel you hava a respectable amount of spiritual power."

"Yeah, you're not the first person to tell me that. The reason I'm not a seated officer is because I'm kind of an outcast in the division. My Zanpakutou is Kido-based, I use a lot of Kido myself, I've got quite a lot of friends in the 4th and I don't like fighting half as much as most guys in the 11th. I've recently applied for a transfer to the 9th division, because their lieutenant is a respectable man, and, without a captain, they can use all the help they can get, I guess. Plus, their uniforms are a lot better for my fighting. Without the sleeves, it's a lot more streamlined."

"Yeah," Ichigo said. "I think you and Lieutenant Hisagi will get along quite well." Muguruma Kensei, one of the Vizards, popped up in his head. "Hey, have you ever heard of Muguruma Kensei?"

"Yeah. Wasn't he one of the criminal captains who were kicked out of the Soul Society a century ago?"

"That's the guy. I... From what I've heard about him, he's a lot like you."

"Yeah... I know..." A flash of sadness shot across Enma's face, only to be replaced by a wide grin. Ichigo saw it was fake, but he didn't ask about it. "I should be getting back to bed... My wounds started aching again just a moment ago."

"Ok. Rest well. See ya." Ichigo said.

"Thanks. Catch ya later," Enma answered as he got up and wandered back to the ladder.

**Cut! That's a wrap! So far for the chapter. Did ya like it, or not? Whichever way, press the 'review this chapter' button below. Next chapter, I'll show you why the story is called 'The Great Uprise' when Ichigo and Enma take on a mysterious opponent! Hope you're looking forward to it! Also, my thanks to Sir Eagle for beta-ing again!**

Notes:

Translation: World Destroyer.

I decided to give Enma a uniform comparable to the 9th Division uniform, without sleeves. It would be easier to show the defensive power of Yochihakaisha.

**Chou**: Block, **Kaen**: Blaze, **Hae**: Fly, **Shuu**: Dry up.


	3. Chapter 3: ShowOffs

**Heya! It's chapter 3 already? Damn! Well... The story continues again! In this chapter the title will be explained... Sorta. I know, I know. I'm pretty vague. Once again the boring disclaimer:**

**I don't own Bleach or any of the related characters, blah blah blah.**

**Karakura High School**

"ICHIGOOOOOOOO-hmpf!"

Asano Keigo's sharp, slightly neurotic voice sounded through the school, only to be cut off by a dull thump. "Hey Mizuiro, Keigo..." Ichigo sighed as he walked towards his desk, also greeting Chad, Orihime and Tatsuki on the way.

The bell rang just as he sat down, and his teacher, Ochi Misato, walked in.

"Okay everybody," Ochi said, "before we begin, I want to introduce a new transfer student to you. Come in!"

As the door opened, Ichigo was surprised as he saw a familiar face with bright yellow eyes and grey, ruffled hair enter the room.

"Hey people," The Shinigami said with a small bow, "My name's Kasei Enma. Nice to meet ya! I hope we will all get along, and have a good time together." Enma said. He walked towards an empty table, which placed him in front of Keigo and behind Tatsuki.

A few hours later, during lunch break, Ichigo tapped Enma on the shoulder.

"Wanna have lunch with us?" He asked.

"Of course, why not?" Enma replied with his usual grin.

Ichigo had seen that grin a lot the past weekend, because Enma often watched him train. He turned out to be a completely different person than Ichigo thought. He was almost always grinning, and his cheerful, confident attitude even lighted up the atmosphere when Tessai was about to punish Jinta for bullying Ururu and not doing his work.

As they arrived on the roof, Enma immediately knew the names of the people gathered there. Those 3 were the old Ryoka, Ishida Uryuu, Inoue Orihime and Yasutora Sado.

"Do these people know who I am?" he asked Ichigo, just to be sure.

"Yeah. They know you're a Shinigami. They wanted me to introduce you to them."

"Thanks. That saves me some explaining." They walked towards the other 3 people. "Hey! How you guys doin'?" Enma said with his cheerful attitude.

"We're doing great!" Inoue Orihime replied.

"Shouldn't we be the ones asking you that question? Kurosaki told us about your fight." Ishida asked.

"I'm all healed up, thanks to Urahara-san and Tessai-san." He answered with a smile. "As soon as my wounds were almost fully healed, Urahara-san said that he would lend me a gigai, so that I could start moving around for a bit. Which was good, really, because I was getting stiff from all the lying around."

As they started exchanging news about the Soul Society and the world of the living, the roof door opened. A big, muscular guy was standing in the opening. It looked as though he was alone, but Enma, who was closest to the door, could see a group of at least 5 people standing at the bottom.

"Oshima..." Ichigo said with a bored face. "What do you want?"

"Whaddaya think, punk? I'm here to beat you up!"

"OY!" someone yelled.

Everyone looked. Enma had been the one who yelled, and he now stepped in front of the bully, who was at least ten inches taller than him.

"Ya got some problems with my friends? So you're bringing along a gang, because you think you can't take him out on your own? How 'bout you fight me first. All of you, against me. Or are you afraid of that, too?" He said with a wicked grin.

_'He looks one hell of a lot like Kenpachi right now... Heck, he even sounds like him.'_ Ichigo thought.

"Are you sure?" Ishida asked.

"I'm 100% certain I can do this." Enma replied with a relaxed, and slightly mocking tone.

For a second, Oshima looked surprised. Then, he burst out into laughter. "You? Against me an' my friends? Your mouth doesn't suit your length, but okay, I'll teach you who's the boss around here! C'mon guys, lets get him!" The huge guy yelled as he pulled a pair of brass knuckles out of his pockets.

As the delinquents came running up the stairs with bats and chains, Enma took a stance.

Then, all Hell broke loose.

Oshima was the first one to attack, and the first one to fall. Enma planted his right elbow into his stomach, flooring him in an instant.

The second delinquent, who was wielding a bat, struck down wildly at the slightly crouched Enma.

His target reacted with a sidestep, as he turned the attacker's own momentum against him, quickly hitting him in the face with his left fist. It wouldn't have been such a painful blow, that is, if the bully wouldn't have been running at him at full speed. Enma heard something make a statisfying cracking noise.

Number three was easy too, as he tripped over number two. The last thing he saw before going unconcious was the ground, and Enma's knee, shooting towards his face.

Fourth target, another tall guy who was wielding a chain, swung it at Enma, who easily dodged it. As he was about to give it another swing, he saw a foot heading straight towards his face.

As the fourth delinquent was about to hit the ground, the fifth stormed in, and was instantly floored by a swift downward kick, as Enma intentionally hadn't lowered his foot after the previous kick.

Number six, who was the smartest according to Enma, saw his friends get floored, turned around and ran away.

Enma turned back to the group, simply asking "Has anyone gotten a mobile phone at hand? Call for some doctors or something, I think they might have broken something... What y'all gawking at? Lemme guess, there's a teacher behind me, ain't there?"

"No, just that that was pretty fast." Chad said.

"Yeah." Ishida said "I mean, I've seen Ichigo floor bullies before, but you knocked 5 guys out in about 10 seconds."

Enma chuckeled. "Even though they don't like me there, I'm still an 11th Division member. Sword- and fistfighting are still my specialties. These guys are small fry compared to my usual sparring partners."

As he crouched near one of the bullies and started poking him, he said "I hope I didn't go to hard on these guys..." His eyes widened. "Hollows? Damnit"

"Hollows?" Ichigo said, "You're right. Let's go!"

"Okay!" Enma replied as he grabbed a small Soul Candy container from his pocket and swallowed one.

With a small flash of light both he and Ichigo left their bodies at the same time. "We should be able to handle these hollows by ourselves. Hide Ichigo's body. The artificial soul in my body was custom-made to be a perfect copy, so no need to worry about that." Enma yelled as he and Ichigo dashed off.

A girl with short, dark hair looked up as she saw two black cloacked individuals flying over her head.

"Ichigo... And that guy again... I knew I remembered him from somewhere..."

A few moments later, as the two of them arrived at the place where the hollows were, they saw that it was another group, just like last weekend, but bigger.

"Is it just me, or are the hollows starting to work in groups?" Enma asked.

"Yeah," Ichigo replied, " They do seem to be gathering. In the time you were resting, I had to cut 3 more groups like this one. That's pretty strange behaviour for hollows. As far as I know, only the Menos work in groups."

"Well, let's get this over with." Enma said as they landed near the hollows. "Break the foundations of the world! **Yochihakaisha**!"

Just like last time, dust flew everywhere. But as it settled, Ichigo noticed something different from last time. Instead of any of the elemental powers from before, Enma was now holding a simple wooden bo staff.

"Now, **Hae**!" As Enma activated the ability, Ichigo saw the bo staff change. Lightning started crackling around the tip, and soon the staff had a spearhead made of pure, blue lightning. He tossed the spear at the nearest hollow, nailing it to a tree.

"Dammit. I knew that was a bad first move. Now I'm gonna have to pull it loose again. Damn!" Enma cursed as he ran towards his weapon.

Whilst Ichigo was fighting the hollows, he kept an eye on Enma's fights too. He was curious about this new ability of his.

As Enma was pulling the spear loose, a hollow approached him. As soon as he had yanked the spear out, he rammed it into the ground and yelled "**Chou**!" Again, the weapon changed. The spearhead dissipated into sparks, and at the same time, rocks started gathering on the tip of the staff, forming a giant jackhammer. With a single strike, he smashed the hollow in two.

Another hollow snuck up to him, which prompted Ichigo to yell "Behind you!"

"Thanks," Enma replied, swinging the huge hammer around with surprising speed, crushing the hollow into a bloody pulp. "Strange. I can sense a strong reiatsu, but there's nothing more than a bunch of small fry here. Oh well, no use just standing here. Let's finish this. **Kaen**!"

The jackhammer instantaneously turned to dust as the staff started to show numerous cracks across the surface. The cracks started glowing, and released flames, which formed two jagged axe blades, opposite to each other on the staff. He started swinging it around, scorching and cutting all hollows that got too close.

As they kept beating up the hollows, Enma noticed there was something strange with the sky.

_'Shit!'_ He thought as he yelled "Ichigo! Garganta! There's something coming here from Hueco Mundo!"

The Garganta opened. Ichigo took a stance for Bankai, and Enma just gawked at what he saw standing inside that hole in space itself.

Inside the hole were three human-looking beings. But there was something odd about them. The reiatsu they were radiating... Enma noticed something strange about it. It was not the reiatsu of a human. Not that of a hollow. Not that of a Shinigami. It was that of an Arrancar.

And yet, the three beings inside the Garganta looked completely human. They weren't wearing anything to cover their faces or heads, yet no hollow mask remnants were visible. But there was no doubt about it.

These three were Arrancar.

Not normal hollows.

Not Gillians.

Not Adjuchas.

These three were full-grown Vasto Lorde Arrancar.

"Peh... The scouts were beaten already? How weak." the first one sneered. His appearance was that of a young man, about the same age as Ichigo, with jade-green, spiky hair. By face, he reminded Ichigo of Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez, vicious and agressive, although his facial features weren't as sharp.

"What did you expect? They were just regular hollows. Not even Gillians. But still, I feel kinda sorry for the poor bastards." the second one replied. He looked a bit older than the first one, about twenty years of age. His hair was raven black, with here and there a red hair. Strangely, he looked like a kind and gentle person, despite the fact that he was an extremely powerful, soul-eating monster.

"Stop your yapping, you two. We've got company." the third one said. This one looked like a woman, somewhere between the age of 25 and 30, with a strict face and sharp eyes. Her hair was a strange, somewhat pulsing purple.

"We are so fucking fucked..." Enma muttered.

Suddenly Ichigo's reiatsu spiked. "Ban... Kai!"

Enma felt as if a bomb just went off next to him. _'This... massive reiatsu... Yes. Now I'm sure. This is truly the young man who fought on equal grounds with the captain. But still...' _He snapped back to the situation at hand. "Ichigo! Stop it! We can't win this! They're too strong! These things have greater power than a Captain. You can't even dream of beating three of them at once!"

Just as he was about to grab Ichigo and run, the 3 Arrancar disappeared from his sight, only to reappear around them. They were surrounded. There was no way to get out.

"Well..." Enma said. "You're the first Vasto Lorde Arrancar we've met. Let me guess... Espada 3 to 1?"

"Espada?" The green-haired one said with a tone of disgust. "You put us in the same box as those weaklings? We are much more! We are the Halcones! Let me introduce myself. I am the Tres Halcone: Ricardo Paradiaca!"

The black-haired one sighed and said: "I am the Segunda Halcone: Sechar Destego."

"I am the Primera Halcone," the woman said. " Catriz Anuloja." Ichigo and Enma each took battle stances, but the woman simply waved them away. "We have come here to relay a message."

"Well then," Ichigo said. "What is this message of yours."

"How about we just carve it into their bodies?" The Arrancar who introduced himself as Ricardo Paradiaca said.

The woman, Anuloja, started smiling. "Let's do that, shall we?"

Ichigo could only just see Paradiaca and Destego charge their Bala before he felt pain everywhere.

Everything went black.

…

_Darkness..._

_My body...  
_

_I can't feel it, yet at the same time..._

_It hurts..._

_It hurts so much..._

_Wait..._

_I can feel something..._

_Warmth..._

_Light..._

"Glasses?"

Ichigo yelped as he, once again, woke up to Tsubakishi Tessai's face.

"WHAT THE HELL, MAN!" He yelled as he threw him off.

"That's the second time we've rescued you from certain death, Kurosaki-san... Those guys sure beat you up bad." a familiar voice spoke.

Urahara Kisuke was standing in the door, with a bandaged Kasei Enma standing behind him. He was holding his Bo staff, but this time, there was ice covering the two ends of the staff, with a small orb, apparently also made of ice, hanging above the top.

"You were lucky that Kasei-san's wounds were not as bad as yours, because without him we couldn't have saved you. Truly, Kasei-san, you have an interesting Shikai. Apparently, it can manifest externally as well as internally. Peculiar indeed."

"True. My Zanpakutou is unique, although the internal manifestation puts a lot of strain on my body, and thus takes up a lot of energy, but we're gonna need a lot more than a unique Shikai if we're gonna beat the Halcones. From what I saw, their powers far exceed even our wildest expectations. They are far stronger than the captains. I will make sure their message is relayed to the Gotei 13." Enma said with a frustrated face.

"What was their message? They said they were going to carve it into our bodies." Ichigo said.

"Don't worry. I already erased the message from your body. Your family would ask too many questions if they would see. And as for what the message was, look here." Enma said as he held up his left arm.

There, on his upper arm, from elbow to wrist, were words written in scars.

"Fear us." He said with a bitter tone.

**That was the third chapter. These new enemies... How will they face them? And what role will Tatsuki play in this story? Even I don't know yet, really...**

**Anyway, press the nice shiny button saying review this chapter below, or monkeys will come and eat your soul. Okay, love you, bye bye!**

**Notes:**

**Halcones means Hawks in Spanish.**

**The Japanese characters introduce themselves last name – first name, whilst the Spanish characters, the Arrancar, introduce themselves the other way around. So Ricardo is the Tres Halcones' first name, and Paradiaca his last.**


	4. Chapter 4: Does Your Bark Have Bite?

It had been 4 days since the Halcones' attack. Friday afternoon, Enma was walking back to Urahara's shop, where he had been staying for the past few days.

"Ugh..." He muttered. "I didn't know humans had to do so much stuff for school. Really, the Academy was easier. But I've got more important things on my mind. How the heck are we gonna beat those damn Halcones? They're monstrous, and way stronger than a captain."

Suddenly, he heard some people shouting stuff like "Get her" and "We're gonna beat you up!".

"What the hell is going on there? That doesn't sound good. I think I'll take a look." he said to himself with a frown.

He started running towards the source of the ruckus. He wondered why there were no other people. Then he realized that he had missed a turn whilst thinking about the Halcones, which had sent him right into one of the sleepier neighborhoods.

Whilst running, he realized the sound was coming from somewhere near the bridge across the large river that ran through Karakura.

He ran onto the grass at the riverbank and stopped to look. To his left, he saw a group of guys, about Ichigo's age, maybe older, running towards a certain black-haired girl, whilst swinging bamboo training swords and baseball bats. There were several knocked out guys next to her already.

"Time to open a can of whoop-ass." He whispered to himself, running towards the group of chasers.

He didn't tell his new friends, but 4 days ago, when he beat up the group of bullies he had augmented his own custom version of Hado #1: **Sho**(*), **Shokireme****, which allowed him to charge the spell's impact into his limbs, into his fighting. He was going to do the same today.

As he had fully charged his Kido, he arrived at the group and did a sliding, knocking down the first runners, which made most of the others trip over the first bullies.

"Finally, some help." Tatsuki said with a frustrated face.

"Hey, it's you! How ya doin'? Sorry for being late." Enma said with a grin whilst he threw a bully into 3 others which such force it knocked them out.

"I'm doing great. Now we're with the 2 of us, we can easily win this. Wanna have a contest who knocks out the most of them?" Tatsuki said, returning Enma's grin as she kicked another bully in the face.

Together, Enma and Tatsuki had absolutely no problem with the bullies, easily taking them all out.

"How many did you get?" Enma asked, knocking the last bully out with an uppercut that sent him flying 2 feet into the air.

"11. You?" She said with a smile.

"11 too." He said with a grin. "You got a mobile phone? I think I got a little too enthusiastic with this one..." He said, nudging one of the bullies with his foot. _'I should really stop doing that.' _He thought to himself.

"Where'd you learn to fight like that?" Tatsuki asked.

Enma kept smiling, but his voice had a sad tone. "My brother."

"Okay." Tatsuki said, realizing she had struck a nerve. "But I think we need to talk." She said, suddenly serious.

Enma immediately realized what she meant. "Okay. But not here. Do you know where we can talk about that without people listening? Not where I'm staying I think, because Kisuke would never leave us alone if I came home with a girl."

Tatsuki didn't know who Kisuke was, but she understood the idea. "How about my place? My parents aren't in town." She said.

"Your place?" Enma said with a wide, mocking grin.

Tatsuki punched him on the shoulder. "Perv... I think I'm going to like you." She said with a grin as wide as his.

About 15 minutes later, as they walked into her room, she said: "Now tell me. Who and what are you? And what has Ichigo got to do with it?"

Enma was silent for a minute, "S'pose it won't hurt to tell you, since you already know so much. We are Shinigami. We protect the balance of souls between this world and our own. However, Ichigo is a Substitute Shinigami, as he isn't an official member of the Gotei 13, our organization, and acquired his powers on his own. We fight evil souls called hollows. The being I defeated, saving your ass about a week ago, was a hollow. Understand?"

Tatsuki was dumbstruck. Shinigami? Hollows? Gotei 13? What the heck was this guy talking about?

"I knew about these 'hollows' of yours already," Tatsuki said, thinking back to all the fights with hollows she had witnessed, "but what I can't believe is that a 16 year old kid is a member of this military organization, this... Gotei 13." She said with disbelief.

Enma started laughing. "Sixteen years old? My dear Tatsuki. I'm about 150 years old." Enma said with a grin.

This time Tatsuki's jaw really dropped. Then her amazement turned into curiosity.

"But how can you switch from human to Shini... something so fast?" She asked. It was the first thing she could come up with.

"I'll show you." Enma said, reaching into his pockets. What he pulled out looked like a little PEZ container. He brought it to his mouth and pressed the button on the top. A pill shot into his mouth.

As he swallowed the pill, he sent out a bright flash of light. And then, instead of 1 Enma, there were 2 Enma's sitting there.

'WHOAH! What just happened?" Tatsuki asked, a little shocked.

"That was a soul candy." the Enma's said at the same time.

The black cloaked Enma started talking. "That soul candy contained an artificial soul, which will temporarily take over my body. This one was created to be exactly like me. While he takes over my day-to-day chores here, I go and do the Shinigami jobs I am supposed to do."

Then, Tatsuki noticed the sword in Enma's lap. It looked a bit strange. It looked like a wakizashi, but with a blade which was at least 3 to 4 feet long, with a wooden hilt and sheath, which, combined with it's Aikuchi(***) mounting, made it look like a training sword, and, tied under the hilt, there were 4 small stones dangling on 4 white cords. They looked like a simple pebble, a ruby, a sapphire and a small diamond.

"What's that?" She asked.

"This? This is my Zanpakutou, Yochihakaisha." he said with a face that said "Isn't that obvious?".

"Zanpakutou? Yochihakaisha? What?" Tatsuki said, a bit confused.

Enma chuckled. "The Zanpakutou is a Shinigami's weapon. With it, we can send human souls to the afterlife, and slay hollows. Every Zanpakutou has a name, and two seals, which can be released. My Zanpakutou's name is Yochihakaisha. I believe Ichigo's was Zangetsu. These are the names our swords take on in their sealed form, and in the Shikai, first release. I can't use the Bankai, final release, yet, but Ichigo can. In Bankai, his Zanpakutou is called Tensa Zangetsu. Got it?"

Tatsuki thought she got it. She wasn't sure though...

Suddenly, Enma's eyes widened. "Hollows..." He whispered. "Wanna see a Shinigami in action again?" He asked with a smile. "If so, get on my back."

A few seconds later, Enma was running full speed across the rooftops with Tatsuki on his back.

"Won't people see me like this?" Tatsuki asked.

"Don't worry. We're going way too fast, and I cast a kido spell before we left, pretty much making you invisible." Enma reassured her. "Ah. We have arrived." He said as they ran onto one of Karakura's higher buldings, with several frog-like hollows crawling across the walls and roofs of the surrounding buildings.

As Enma put Tatsuki down, he held up his sheathed sword and shouted: "**Break the foundations of the world! Yochihakaisha!"**

Tatsuki watched in awe as the sheath and hilt fused together and then extended to the length of a staff.

"Stay here. The spell will protect you from these small fry." Enma said with a smile.

_'Small fry? Those things are huge!' _Tatsuki thought.

"Now, **Kaen**!" He yelled. Instantly the staff's surface cracked, and 2 fiery ax-blades were formed on the staff.

"**Dokihi**(****)!**" **He yelled. Instantly, a wide blast of fire shot out of one of the ax-blades. Upon impact 5 of the hollows were incinerated. As he slew 3 more hollows with the ax, the others climbed up the walls of the other buildings.

"Don't think you'll get away! **Hae**!" He shouted at the hollows. As he held the staff over his head, the ax-blades dissolved, and a bright blue spearhead, made out of lightning was formed on top of the staff.

"**Raiso**(*****)!" Enma yelled, throwing the spear. As soon as the spear left his hand, 4 other spears made of lighting came out of the original spear, 2 on each side.

As the remaining hollows saw their comrades fall, they lunged at Enma.

He was still unarmed.

One moment Enma was just standing there.

Then he disappeared, and reappeared where his spear-staff was still spiked into the building.

"Okay. Lemme think here... Ah, of course... Now, **Shuu**!" he said as he grabbed his weapon and disappeared, just like last time.

As he reappeared, surrounded by hollows, his staff had changed again. The staff's tips were covered in ice, with a small icy orb hanging over the top.

"Let's finish this! ******Reika**(******)!

He rammed the staff into the ground, which sent a dome of bluish energy flying outwards.

On impact, the energy encased them in ice in the blink of an eye.

As he walked back to Tatsuki, he saw something strange in the sky. _'Another Garganta? Impossible!'_

He relaxed when he saw it was not an Arrancar Garganta, but the kind hollows used to get to the world of the living. When it had opened, a hollow somewhat resembling a human (although he was twice as large as a human) came out. _'Adjuchas? What the hell is going on?' _Enma wondered.

Suddenly, the hollow disappeared. _'Sonido!' _He thought. It reappeared. Right next to Tatsuki.

It raised its fist.

It struck.

A dull thump resounded across the square. Enma was standing between the hollow and Tatsuki.

He had blocked the Adjuchas' fist with the giant hammer he now held in his hands.

Tatsuki felt something strange about him. His spiritual pressure had first been soft, warm and gentle, like a cozy fire, even when he was slaying the bat-hollow the first time they met. Right now, it was more like standing next to the fires of Hell itself.

"Why're you attacking her? The best food is here. C'mon, take a bite." He said, pushing the hollow back with his Shokireme.

He stretched his arms out towards the hollow. "C'mon!" he said again. "Bite. Or are ya scared?"

The hollow bit. In an instant, all his teeth were broken. With lightning-fast speed, Enma had jammed the hammer between the hollows jaws. "Too slow." Enma started attacking the Adjuchas, driving it into defense. Just as he wanted to deal the finishing blow, he saw the Adjuchas charging a Cero. "Again, too slow! **Jemuhou**(*****)!"

As he activated the ability, he smashed his hammer into the ground. Precious gems came shooting out of the ground, lodging themselves into the rocky hammerhead, until it was completely covered with crystals. This all happened within mere seconds. Then, he stood up and pointed the hammer towards the hollow.

"See ya..." He said with a grin. Suddenly, the gems on the hammerhead started flying towards the hollow at high speeds, turning hammer into a shiny machine gun. Strangely, the gems seemed to be regenerating. At the same time, the Adjuchas fired the Cero. As the two attacks crashed together, sparks with all the colors of the rainbow flew everywhere.

A moment later, the hollow had more holes in him than a piece of Swiss cheese.

"Are you alright?" He said, turning his back on the disintegrating hollow. He saw she was in a fighting stance. Also, he noticed her eyes looked... Empty. _'Must have been an instinctual reaction. And the spirit pressure was probably a bit much for her.' _Enma thought as he started grinning. "What's wrong? Cat got your tongue?" he asked mockingly.

She closed her eyes. As she opened them again, Enma noticed they were back to normal. "Yeah... Thanks... What was that? All of a sudden your presence went from relaxed guy to infernal demon. You almost knocked me out there." Tatsuki.

"Sorry. When someone threatens one of my friends, I don't usually take it all that lightly, and I might just lose my grip on my spiritual pressure." he said. "Sorry. Come on. Work here's done."

As he brought Tatsuki back to her house, they found that the artificial soul in Enma's Gigai was sound asleep on Tatsuki's bed. Enma poked him in the side and yelled: "Wake up, ya lazy bastard!" With a small yelp, the artificial soul woke up. "Huh? What? Oh, it's you guys. Everything work out?"

"Yep. Just great. No problems at all. Now if you please, I'd like my body back." Enma said with a smile.

"Okay, I'm gonna leave you two love-birds alone now." The soul said with a grin.

"Why you little..." Enma shouted. "Wait. Shouldn't slash up my Gigai. I don't think Kisuke would like that." he said as he returned into his body with a small flash. "Phew. Now that that's finished, have you got any questions?" Enma asked in a way a teacher asks something to his class.

"Nope." Tatsuki said. "Well... Maybe one. Well, it's more of a request than a question. I would like you to train me to withstand spiritual energy."

"Why that? I'm sorry, but you can't fight alongside us if that's what you want." Enma answered.

"No, it's just, I was there when those 'Arrancar' attacked about four weeks ago. Almost killed me too. I heard the name just before I passed out, so I don't know what they are, but still, the next time I see them, I don't want to be paralyzed like last time. If it wasn't for Sado, I would have died. You almost knocked me out back there too. Without training, there's no way I can survive another attack by them." She said with an angry tone.

_'Sado? But wasn't Inoue there too? She must have passed out before she could see her...'_ Enma thought. "I see..." He said, suddenly serious too. "I'll tell you about the Arrancar later. I guess we could train after school and in the weekends. But I'll warn you, it'll take up a lot of time and energy, and it might be dangerous for your health, so unless you are really, really sure, I would advise you to stay on the sidelines."

"I had already anticipated it to be dangerous. Nothing seems to be safe around you people but still. I can't just watch by the sidelines as all of my friends endanger themselves and get hurt or even killed."

Enma was silent for a moment. "If it means that much to you, I will teach you. Well then, let's start tomorrow. That's a Friday, so we can continue that weekend. I'll see you at school , okay?" Enma said, his grin back on his face.

"But... Wait, what? You agreed?" Tatsuki said, a little confused.

"Yes." Enma replied. "I understand what it means to you. I would hate sitting on the sidelines to see my friends get hurt or killed. I will see you again tomorrow. I've got to leave now. See ya"

"See ya." Tatsuki said as Enma left the room. After he left, she just sat there and thought for a while about what just happened. Hollows? Shinigami? Arrancar? Although it was hard to believe, she saw the proof more than once, and with her own eyes. And what was this strange feeling she had when he saved her?

As Enma was walking home he thought about the past week. It was strange. It all began with captain Zaraki's orders to fight Ichigo. Although he did fight him, Enma eventually befriended him. Now he had another friend, and a pupil, in the world of the living. But what he was most aware of, was his lack of power versus the enemies they faced now. He didn't know what he had to do to gain enough strength to fight them, but he did know the first step.

He had to obtain Bankai.

He knew there was a way. Ichigo had obtained Bankai in just a few days. Even though Enma wasn't as powerful as Ichigo, he was certain he could do it. He would ask Urahara about it later.

Then he felt a sharp emotional sting. Tatsuki had asked him about where he had learned his fighting. He learned it from his brother. That brother, also a Shinigami, had died 100 years ago, as a victim of Aizen's experiments, just like the best known case, Lieutenant Kaien Shiba. Everyone had blamed it on Urahara Kisuke, but he had never believed it. Urahara said Aizen did it. Enma believed him. He had always felt something was... wrong with Aizen... Now, even after Aizen's betrayal, there were still a lot of people who still blamed it on Kisuke. Enma had never mentioned it to Urahara, because he didn't want to burden him with his problems.

As he walked home, he wondered what this strange feeling was when he thought about that strange girl.

**And... That was it. I decided to give everyone my vision on Enma's Zanpakutou, so that you will have the right idea. For all of my European colleagues here, 3-4 feet is about a meter. No beta'ers for now, although a new version will be uploaded soon, but my current Beta Reader, Sir Eagle, is very busy for school and whatnot, so he's a little later.**

***: Thrust**

****: Thrust Break**

*****: with an Aikuchi-style mounting, the sword hasn't gotten a tsuba, and thus the hilt and the sheath are directly connected.**

******: Loosely translatable to Fire Rage.**

*******: Loosely translatable to Lightning Falcon.**

********:Loosely translatable to Sub-Zero.**

*********: Loosely translatable to Gem Gun.**


	5. Chapter 5: Revelation Determination

**Hey people, Here's chapter 5 for ya. I've decided that this all takes place between Ichigo's Vizard training and Orihime's capture. Even though there's not really supposed to be a time gap there, I think it would be better if there was one. I know Sir Eagle is gonna bug me about this, but hey, It's a fan fiction, and it's not supposed to be canonically correct. Oh, by the way, I've chosen Enma's theme song. It's 'My Generation' by Limp Bizkit. Check it out, it's really good. The fact that Tatsuki knows about Ichigo's Shinigami side-job won't change that much about her aggressive reaction when Orihime is kidnapped. Don't worry, she will still punch his head through the window and stuff.**

The next day, school was just like any other day, with Ichigo and Enma running out of class to fight a hollow somewhere halfway through the day. The groups of hollows weren't increasing in size anymore, which caused Enma to worry about the Halcones' next move. As he was about to walk back to Urahara's, he remembered his promise to train Tatsuki, so he went and looked for her. He found her outside of the school, waiting for him.

"Hey." Enma said with his usual grin as he walked up to Tatsuki. "Today's the first day of training. Can't believe I'm saying this, but let's go to Urahara's. I'll explain everything you need to know on the way there."

"Okay. Let's go then. I can't wait to start the training." Tatsuki said, almost jumping around from the excitement.

Enma sighed. "I'm looking up against Kisuke's greeting as we get there. I know he is the kind of person to keep bugging me about taking home a girl, and that's not even considering his reaction when I'll ask him if we can use the training room alone... Well, I promised to explain everything to you, but remember, you didn't get this from me." Enma said with his smile reappearing.

As they walked to Urahara's shop, Enma explained her about the Arrancar, the Soul Society, Aizen, everything. Once again, Tatsuki was dazed by the amount of unbelievable information.

They arrived at Urahara's shop to find Kisuke with his usual combination of a smirk and his fan half in front of his face. "Well, well, well, what do we have here?" Kisuke said, his grin widening. "Just a week in this town and you already brought back a girl. My, my, aren't you the playboy."

"Shaddup, Kisuke." Enma said, slightly annoyed. "That's not the case. We need to use your training room, and I'd like you not to interrupt."

Kisuke's grin became even wider. Enma thought the top of the guy's head would seriously fall of the bottom half. "The training room?" He whistled in the same way someone would whistle to a girl. "I'm a little worried about what you're going to do down there."

Tatsuki decided to interrupt, as she saw Enma was ready to kick the creepy guy in the face, saying "Nice to meet you, Urahara-san. Enma-kun has told me a lot about you. We would really appreciate it if we could use your training room. Please. It's important." She said with a serious tone. Enma was surprised with Tatsuki's sudden change of attitude. In the short while he had known her, she had never been so polite to someone.

"Hrm... Alright. I can guess what you want to train for. You were the only normal human survivor of that Arrancar attack, weren't you? You want to build up a tolerance for spirit pressure, am I right?" Kisuke said, his grin still there, but his voice a bit more serious. This time, it was Tatsuki who was surprised by the fact this creep actually knew her.

"However," Urahara said, "Even though Enma-kun here is a very proficient man when it comes down to pressure control, I think I'll keep a close watch on your progress, for if something goes wrong." He spoke the last words with an innocent smile.

Enma sighed. He knew Kisuke just wanted to nag the two of them, but he could indeed use some help. "Alright, Kisuke. I guess we could use your help. An ex-captain is as good a trainer as me. Come on, let's get into the basement." As he walked into the shop, he signaled Kisuke and Tatsuki to follow him.

"Wait, Enma-kun. You should leave your Gigai here. It would be more effective to use your spirit body. It will give you a better grip on your spirit power, as the Gigai sometimes disrupts the balance. I don't want you to kill here or something like that." Urahara said, suddenly a lot more serious.

"You're right." Enma answered, reaching into his pockets to get his Gikongan. When he pulled it out, Urahara said: "That's a strange model you have there. I've never seen it before. What's it called?"

"Oh, this? I'm not surprised you haven't seen it before, as it was custom-made for me. His name's Billy" Enma said just before he swallowed the pill and left his Gigai to the artificial soul named Billy in a bright blue flash.

"Take good care of that Gigai, Billy. You can come take a look during training if you want to." Enma said as they walked in.

"Yeah. I'll think I'll do that. Besides, I won't leave you two love-birds alone for one second." Billy said with a huge grin.

"Why you filthy little..." Enma said as he tried to punch him, actually blushing a little. Yeah, maybe he did think Tatsuki was a nice girl, but that didn't mean anything... Right? He was so caught up in trying to punch Billy without damaging his Gigai, he didn't notice Tatsuki had started blushing too.

As they walked towards the counter, Billy and Enma still trying to knock each other out, Urahara said "Enma, if you'd please..." Enma understood the question and walked towards the counter and put his hands underneath it. _'Wait, what? Is he going to try to lift it? I'd like to see him do that...' _Tatsuki thought.

Enma braced himself and started lifting, picking the counter off the floor with relative ease. "Wait, wait, wait," Tatsuki said. "How come you're able to lift that up? That's a shop counter, with stuff inside of it and..." Halfway through her sentence she stopped as she saw Enma grinning at her. "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. In our spirit body, Shinigami have enhanced strength. By the way, if you have to climb all the way down, it'll take too long. Allow me to carry you." He said, picking her up in his arms. Tatsuki wondered what he meant with 'all the way down'. They were just going into the basement, and it couldn't be all that deep. And she couldn't help but blush again as Enma held her in his arms.

Instead of climbing down the manhole, Enma just jumped. Tatsuki wondered why he had to carry her if he could just jump it. But instead of landing after a few seconds, they just kept falling... and falling... and falling, until suddenly they exited the small manhole and entered a huge training room. Tatsuki was sure they were going to fall to death, but Enma looked too confident for that.

Tatsuki soon found out why, because a few meters above the ground, they started slowing down, and eventually landed softly on the ground. "Well, that was a pretty... interesting experience..." Tatsuki said, a little dazed by the fall.

Enma saw her face and started grinning again. "Oops." He said with a semi-innocent face. "Guess I didn't tell you about that either..."

Just as Tatsuki was about to punch him again, she realized the size of the training room. "What... The... Hell?" She said, even more amazed. Just as she said that, a huge man with square glasses and corn-rolls came out from behind a rock. "Do you like it?" he asked.

As Tatsuki started giving about the same reaction as Enma did, which, of course, resulted in Tessai crying with happiness, Enma felt that same, strange, yet comfortable feeling coming up as he watched her. He jumped up with surprise as he heard Kisuke's voice right next to his left ear, saying "I think Billy's got the right idea about you two."

"GYAAAAAH! Kisuke, ya bastard, don't scare me like that," He yelled. As he continued, he spoke a lot softer, to make sure Tatsuki didn't hear him. "Yeah, maybe I do like her, but that's none of your business."

"Quite on the contrary, my dearest Enma." Kisuke said with a very loud voice and a grin from ear to ear. "If I know when you're gonna take her home, I'll be able to tell Tessai to make dinner for her too." His grin became even wider. "And, if she's going to stay over here, then I'll be able to place another bed in your room... Unless you two wanna share a bed?"

Lighting fast, Enma's fist flew forward, only to be dodged by an equally fast Urahara.

"What's wrong, you two?" Tatsuki asked.

"Absolutely nothing, Enma answered with an awkward grin, launching his knee towards Kisuke's face, who once again dodged it masterfully.

"Well then, shouldn't we begin training?" Tatsuki asked, grinning back at them.

"Fine," Enma said, halting his attempts to beat Kisuke up, "but we should move to a somewhat more open area.

When they had changed locations to an open field (partially created by Enma blasting a small amount of rocks and boulders with low-level Kido, much to his entertainment) thay walked a few meters away fro m each other. Enma turned around to face Tatsuki and said "I'm going to let my spirit pressure slip here and there. Tell me when you start to feel dizzy or something like that." He closed his eyes. Suddenly, it seemed as if the wind had started blowing. Strange, orange energy seemed to seep from his hands and legs, and formed a small circle around him. It wasn't much, but Tatsuki could feel it's effect, getting a little light-headed.

"Doin' okay?" He asked after a few minutes, "If so, I'm gonna ramp it up a bit." Tatsuki nodded in agreement, and Enma let some more power slip. The circle grew higher and started flowing and sparking like flames. Tatsuki started feeling dizzy, but didn't tell Enma, who took the spirit pressure up another notch after another couple of minutes. "Tatsuki, you're starting to look pale. You okay?" Enma asked a few moments later with a worried look on his face.

"I-I'm fine." Tatsuki answered, even though she knew it didn't sound convincing. Enma sighed, and even though he knew she wasn't doing as well as she said, he raised his power level a bit more. He knew that if they didn't go outside the comfort zone, she would never build up resistance. Tatsuki felt like she was going to be blown over by the wind created by Enma's spirit pressure.

Tatsuki told him to raise the power even more. Enma had warned her, but she didn't care. If she didn't go all-out, it would all be for nothing. But as Enma raised his spiritual pressure even more, she started staggering, and before she knew it, she felt she was falling. But before she hit the ground, she felt two arms catching her, and a familiar voice saying "You silly, stubborn girl..."

Tatsuki got up and looked around. She was lying in a bed in a small room. Then she noticed Enma sitting in a chair next to the bed, fast asleep with his head hanging back and his mouth open. He was back in his Gigai, but he was no longer wearing the school uniform. Instead, he was wearing a pair of baggy jeans, a purple shirt, and a white blouse with purple stripes. As always, his usual huge earphones were around his neck. She didn't know if he knew she heard those last words he said before fainting, but she had to wake him up . At first, he felt the impulse to prank the sleeping Shinigami, but then, she realized she shouldn't do that. She owed him for sharing his secrets, training her and whatnot. So instead of pranking him, she just poked him in the stomach.

"Huh? Who? What? Where?" Enma sputtered as he woke up. "Oh! You woke up. Good. I have to say, your resistance to spirit pressure was a lot better then I thought, although exposure for more than 15 minutes seems to be too much for you." he said with a gentle smile. She felt a little awkward as the yellow eyes looked at her, as she noticed she was wearing a pair of pyjamas. Wait, what? "Huh? How did I get into these pyjamas?" she asked, glaring at Enma, thinking he was the one who put her into those.

Enma started laughing. "Don't worry. I went by your house in my Gigai, and asked your parents to grab some of your stuff for me. As far as they know, you're just staying at my place. And I didn't put you into those. Ururu did. I'm still wondering how that little girl managed to do that." He said with a smile. Tatsuki didn't know who Ururu was, but she told herself to thank her as soon as she found out.

"You told my parents I was sleeping over? At a guy's place? Oh my god... My parents are gonna ask the shirt off my back as soon as I get back..." She said with a tired look on her face.

"Heh. Sorry. Well, want some food? You've been knocked out for a day now. I don't think it's all that good to start the training again directly. How about we invite Ichigo and the others to do something? Catch a movie, go downtown, I dunno what you usually do." Enma said happily.

"Going downtown seems like a good idea to me. I've got their phone numbers in my cellphone. Let's see... Orihime..." She entered the first number. _"Inoue Orihime?"_ it sounded from the other side of the line. "Hey, Orihime. It's Tatsuki. Me and Enma were wondering if you'd like to come downtown with us. We're inviting Rukia, Ichigo, Chad, Mizuiro, Keigo and Uryuu too."

"_Yay! Seems like fun to me! How about we meet in front of the cake shop?" _Orihime said happily. Tatsuki could pretty much see her jumping up and down from excitement on the other side of the line.

"Orihime... Well, okay, let's meet up there. Around, say, 1 'o clock?"

"_Seems fine to me! Bye bye!"_

"See you then." Tatsuki said as she hung up and dialed Ichigo's number.

"_Kurosaki Clinic, this is Kurosaki Isshin, how can I help you?_" A familiar voice said from the other side.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san. It's me," She said with a grin. "Tatsuki. Could we speak to Ichigo for a second?"

"_Of course, Tatsuki! Say, I haven't seen you in a while."_ Tatsuki knew exactly what was coming now. _"I heard from a certain person you had... matured a little?"_ She could **hear** him grinning from the other side of the line.

"Still as perverted as ever, Kurosaki-san. Sure, I'll come by some day. I'm sure Karin and Yuzu would appreciate it too."

"_Okay. Looking forward to it. Well, here's Ichigo." _Isshin said, passing his son the phone.

"_Ichigo."_ Ichigo's serious voice said.

"Hey Ichigo. It's us, Tatsuki and Enma. We were wondering if you and Rukia would want to join us downtown. Orihime's coming too, and we're going to try to get Keigo, Mizuiro, Chad and Uryuu to tag along too."

"_Okay. Fine to me. We'll be seeing you. What time?" _Ichigo asked from the other side of the line.

"1 'O clock, at the cake shop." Tatsuki answered.

Ichigo was silent for a second _"Let me guess. Orihime chose the location?"_

"Yep. That was pretty predictable, huh?" Ichigo heard Enma say in the background.

"_By the way, what are you doing at Enma's?" _Ichigo asked. This question scared Tatsuki a little, but before she could answer, Enma said "Homework, dumbass. What else?"

"_Okay, whatever. See you in a few." _Ichigo said.

"See you." Tatsuki said, hanging up. "Thanks. That was pretty close..."

"No it wasn't." he said with a grin. "The trick is, if you act uncertain, you will sound less believable, even if you speak the evident truth. If you sound completely certain, everyone will believe you." Enma said with a grin. "What? Don't look at me like that! You don't survive over a century in the Gotei 13 without the ability to come up with good excuses to escape from boring tasks, believe me."

Tatsuki agreed with him. She couldn't remember how many times she had to make up an excuse to get out from under her chores in her, in comparison to Enma's, short life. And she was living as a normal teenager, whilst he was in a military organization! Once they had called Uryuu, Mizuiro, Keigo and Chad (they all agreed to hitch along) they headed to the cake shop. Halfway, they met Orihime. "Hey! Tatsuki! Enma-kun!" she shouted as she ran towards them. "Hey!" Enma said as soon as they joined up. "And you can just call me Enma. I never really bothered about those honorifics anyway." he said as they started walking.

"By the way, what were you two doing at your house, Enma?" She asked with a slightly suggestive tone. Again, both Enma and Tatsuki started blushing a little. Enma answered, simply stating: "Nothing, just homework." Even though Orihime's face told them she didn't believe, she left it at that.

Whilst chatting about school, they arrived at the cake shop to see Chad, Mizuiro and Uryuu already there.

"Where's Ichigo?" Enma said, looking around to find him.

"He's late, as usual." Uryuu said. Enma sighed.

"Probably his dad again." Mizuiro said.

"Hey Tatsuki, what were you doing over at the new guy's place?" Keigo asked with a heavily suggestive face. "Homework." she answered, planting her fist into his face.

Five minutes later, Ichigo and Rukia came running towards them. "ICHIGOOOOOOOOO-hmpf" Keigo yelled like every time he saw Ichigo, of course earning himself an elbow in the face. "Hey." Ichigo said. Sorry we're late. My dad gave me problems. Again." Enma asked: "Whaddaya mean, again?" thinking about the nice guy they had on the phone earlier.

"My dad has the nasty habit of continuing my martial arts training at home, even though I stopped a few years ago. Because of that, everyday I leave, enter, or am inside of my house, I can expect an elbow, a knee or another one of my father's body parts flying towards me."

"Also, he doesn't like leaving me alone with Ichigo. Apparently, he thinks his son might have a bad influence on me." Rukia added.

"And you'll say he doesn't?" Tatsuki said with a grin.

"I understand 'bout your father. My boss is 'bout the same. You know, Kenny." Enma answered with a grin, knowing that it was better not to tell Ichigo about the fact he had explained everything to Tatsuki.

"Yeah. He's pretty much nuts too."Ichigo answered, prompting Uryuu, Chad, Rukia and Orihime to nod heavily in agreement.

"Well then, let's go inside." Orihime said enthusiastically.

They sat down at a table and all ordered some cake. Everyone was a little grossed out about Orihime's choice. She was a regular visitor, so the owner always had some of her special pie lying around. It had red bean paste, chocolate, kiwi and gingerbread. Also, Enma almost earned himself a punch in the face from Ichigo as he made a bad joke about the fact that Ichigo ordered strawberry pie(*).

Suddenly, half way through, they heard an explosion.

"What the hell?" Enma said. They ran outside, only to see a huge pillar of smoke a few blocks away. Suddenly, Enma's expression changed from surprised to angry. He grunted "Bathroom" and ran back inside the shop. There, he left his body to Billy, and ran towards the column of smoke, using Shunpo to quickly land between Ichigo and Rukia, making sure they knew he was going to take care of it. Tatsuki saw it too, and noticed something she hadn't noticed before. A large amount of scars on Enma's left arm, although it was all a bit fuzzy.

Soon enough, Billy came walking out of the store, saying: "Personally, I think now would be a good time to go somewhere else. I don't feel all that comfortable, this close to an explosion. How about we go to the mall?" Everyone agreed, and they walked off.

In the meanwhile, Enma was running across the rooftops. As soon as he arrived at the location of the explosion, he saw a big building. Half of it was blasted away, and he saw 2 Gillian-class Menos and several smaller hollows around it, chewing on souls.

"The explosion must have been caused by a Cero. What to do, what to do..." Enma whispered to himself. Then he saw something that made his blood freeze. The two Gillians had noticed him, and were charging their Cero's. He realized he would not have enough time to initiate his unusually slow Shikai (normally, the clouds of dusts swept up gave him enough time because they were distracting, but these guys were too big for that), so he stuck out his fingers in a way a child would imitate guns, pointed at the Gillians and yelled: "Hado #4! **Byakurai**!"

Small flashes of blue energy shout out of his fingers, hitting the two hollows straight in the neck. Just before they were able to fire their Cero's, the hollows were turned towards each other by the spell's physical impact. They fired, blasting each other in the face. They were dead before Enma had unsheathed his sword.

As Enma was about to engage the other hollows, something happened Enma hadn't predicted. Several Garganta's opened in the sky, revealing one... two... three... four Gillians charging their Cero's, pointed at him.

_'I'm gonna die right here, right now.' _he thought. _'Sorry, Tatsuki.' _He closed his eyes as the four beams shot towards him.

"Bakudo #81. **Danku.**" Someone said just before the beams hit Enma.

Surprised by the sudden appearance of the barrier in front of him, he looked into the direction of the voice, where he saw a white-haired child, wearing a captain's uniform, and a blond-haired, big... chested woman with a lieutenant's badge attached to a scarf around her waist. "Captain Hitsugaya? Vice-captain Matsumoto? Of course, you two were stationed here."

"Kasei Enma, was it not?" Hitsugaya asked. "Yup." Enma answered with a half-assed salute, still happy he didn't die. The Hollows started screaming. "Do you have a moment?" The captain asked. "Sure. Do what you have to do." Enma replied with a smile.

"**Bankai**! **Daiguren Hyorinmaru!**" the captain yelled as he jumped down. Within seconds, the usual hollows were either frozen or slashed in half. Just the Menos left.

"**Sennen Hyoro!**" the captain shouted as many ice-pillars appeared around him, quickly closing in on the group of Menos, crushing them into a shapeless mass of flesh and robe.

Enma was gawking as he watched the captain fight. _'Wow... That's awesome...'_ he thought. This time he was sure. _'Tatsuki, I'm sorry, but I'm gonna have to move the training. I need a Bankai, or I won't be able to protect you. I won't be able to protect anyone.'_

As soon as the captain was done, Enma thanked him and left. When he got back to his friends, he sneaked up on them, and quickly entered his body. They all decided to return home. Back at Urahara's, Enma asked Tatsuki to wait in his room. He went to Kisuke's room and knocked on the door.

"Come in." It sounded from the other side. "Ah, it's you, Kasei-san."

"You can just call me Enma. I've come here to ask another favor. I need to learn Bankai. I know it usually takes ten years, but Ichigo learned it in a matter of days. I know you have information on how he did it. I know you can teach me how to obtain a Bankai."

Urahara's grin disappeared. "I can teach you, but it's awfully dangerous. Why would you want to learn Bankai?"

Enma turned down his eyes. "Three reasons. One, the Gotei 13 is three captains short, and with a Bankai, I can take one of the traitors' place. Two, I can never defend myself against the Halcones, let alone defeat one without a Bankai. Number three..." He was silent for a moment. "I want to protect... everyone."

"Alright. But you will have to postpone our training with Tatsuki. You will be busy for a full three days, so you may want to call school too. And remember, it's dangerous." Urahara said.

Enma nodded, and answered: "I've prepared myself to hear that. I knew it was probably dangerous. I don't expect that sticking my hand into a fire won't burn it. I want to start as soon as possible." 

"Tomorrow?"

"Yesterday if possible" Enma said, his grin reappearing on his face.

"Hrm. I think I can have preparations complete in an hour. Meet me in the training room as soon as you're ready." Kisuke said, his grin reappearing too.

"See you in an hour." Enma said, walking out the door.

As soon as he was back in his room, he sat down on the bed, next to Tatsuki and said: "Tatsuki. I need you to do something for me."

"Yeah? What is it?" she asked, a little worried about his serious tone.

"I almost got myself killed an hour ago." He said with a sad face. "I was lucky a captain was able to interfere. I'm going to have Kisuke train me to obtain Bankai. This will take three nights and three days, and I will start in an hour. I would like you to cancel your school for Monday and Tuesday too. Having you by my side will make it easier for me. I want you to know... I'm partially doing this for you."

Tatsuki didn't know why, but hearing him say that made her feel warm inside. "For you? Of course." She said. Then she started grinning. "You're worthless anyway without me around."

Enma grinned back at her, happy she was with him.

**I know this is a little fast after my last chapter, but since I hadn't uploaded in a long time, I thought it would be nice to upload this one too. My usual Beta Reader, Sir Eagle is still busy with school and his own stories, so I'll re-upload the chapter as soon as he's corrected it. Because he's busy, I'm looking for a temporary replacement. Of course, I have a 'You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' policy, so if you volunteer to be my beta'er, I'll happily beta your chapters too.**

**By the way, this chapter starts Friday afternoon. Tatsuki wakes up somewhere the next morning. Enma's talk with Urahara happens at around 6.**

**(*)Ichigo's name literally means strawberry, for those who forgot.**


	6. Chapter 6: The Blade Reborn

**Yo! It's me again, this time with chapter 6! More will be revealed about Enma's brother as he fights someone who wields all of his own powers. Or does he? By the way, links to pictures of several objects mentioned in the story are found on my profile page.  
**

**Bankai Training, Day 1: Saturday evening.**

After both Tatsuki and Enma canceled school for the next couple days, they went down into the training room. There, they saw Urahara was already waiting for them, holding a strange white man-sized mannequin-like doll. "I see you are both here. You might be wondering what I am holding here." He said, holding the doll forward. "This is the Tenshintai. I think you know the difference between the Shikai and the Bankai, right Enma?"

"Of course. The Shikai changes the Zanpakutou to it's 'real' form as a weapon, whilst the Bankai calls out the spirit itself to fight alongside the Shinigami." Enma answered. It was a pretty basic fact, known by most Shinigami.

"Correct. Now, usually, the Shinigami has to study for about 10 years to summon the spirit of their Zanpakutou so that he or she can subjugate it. After that, it will take some time to subjugate the rebellious spirits." Urahara sat down on a rock. "Tell me Enma, have you tried to train for Bankai before?"

"Yes, I have, but I only started about three years ago, so I'm nowhere near yet." Enma answered with a grin. He was pretty proud of the fact he was capable to summon his Zanpakutou's spirit for about 4 minutes before he had to let it return to his inner world again.

"Well then. This device skips the years of learning, and directly summons the spirit of the Zanpakutou into the real world. Then you can start your training. But be careful. You need to master your Bankai in three days. Using it for a longer period of time might be lethal to you." Kisuke said with a serious voice.

"So that's why you told me to take 3 days off. Very well then, let's not waste any more time. What do I need to do?" Enma asked, unsheathing his sword.

"All you need to do is stab the Tenshintai. Then, it will force the spirit out of your inner world."

Enma stepped towards the Tenshintai and drove his sword into the doll. Instantly, the doll glowed with spirit power, and after a few moments, the crack where Enma had stabbed the Tenshintai grew larger, until the doll shattered, and Yochihakaisha disappeared along with it. There was a bright flash, and when Tatsuki opened her eyes again, there was a young man standing next to Enma. In facial features he was exactly the same as him, but the summoned spirit was bare-chested, had hair made out of white flames, a left arm made out of ice, a right arm made out of rocks and his legs were clothed in white, loose, silk pants, which flowed like there was a wind underneath it. But what was the most noticeable, was the large tattoo on Yochihakaisha's chest.

"Enma! Pal! Long time no see!" The spirit said, grabbing Enma by the shoulders with his hands. "Dude, seriously, you need to step by more often. It's been way too long since we last had some fun."

Enma grinned back as he grabbed the spirit by the shoulders too. "You're right, Yochi. I should step by more often. But..." he took a step back, releasing himself from the spirit's grip. "I've got more urgent things to do right now. Like obtaining by Bankai. And you don't fool me, I know you've heard everything we've said." he said to the spirit, his grin disappearing.

Yochihakaisha's face turned grim, and the air of friendship disappeared. "Truthfully, I don't think you're ready for it. You would just get yourself killed in some pitiful way. You're a century too early to learn Bankai. I won't just teach-" he was cut off as Enma yelled: "Don't give me that shit!" he clenched his fist. "Don't you think I realize it might very well end my life? I've called you out here to teach me Bankai, and you will! Fight me! Choose your weapons!"

The spirit was silent for a moment. Then, a menacing grin appeared on his face. "Fine. I'll teach you. Your trial will be a man-to-man fight with me. Only I can use my powers. You won't have access to my powers. You'll have to use your own tricks. But in return, I want you to promise me something."

"Like what?" Enma said.

"Don't die." The spirit said, rushing towards him, his right arm turned into a rocky spike. As Enma dodged it with Shunpo, the spike pierced the ground, shattering everything in a 2 meter radius of where Enma had stood just a few moments ago.

"How am I supposed to not-die if you do stuff like that?" Enma yelled at him.

"Not my problem!" Yochi yelled at him, firing the ice off his right arm's armor like a machine gun, exposing a normal, human arm.

"Bakudo #8! **Seki**!" Enma shouted, creating a small round shield which deflected all of the attacks.

The two of them fought on, Yochihakaisha in the offense and Enma in full defense.

"Come on! I know you're better than that! At least try to hit me or something!" Yochi yelled at Enma, who was muttering to himself. "Huh? Can't hear you! Whispering in public is impolite! He said, sending several spiky rocks out of his hands towards Enma, who dodged them by running away. "I have you now!" Yochi shouted, lunging at Enma with his left hand turned into an icy claw. As he came closer, he heard what Enma was whispering. "_...into six!_ Bakudo #61: **Rikujokoro**!" At which Enma turned towards his Zanpakutou spirit, who was instantaneously locked into place by the spell.

"Dammit! A binding spell? Why not a destructive spell? Wuss!" Yochihakaisha shouted.

"This is why! _Sprinkled on the bones of the beast! Sharp tower, red crystal, steel ring. Move and become the wind, stop and become the calm. The sound of warring spears fills the empty castle!_ Hado #63! **Raikoho**!" Enma shouted, sending a bolt of yellow lightning towards his enemy. In quick reaction to the spell, Yochihakaisha allowed the armor on his arm to loosen and form a shield in front of him. The lightning struck, but was canceled out by the shield.

But that was exactly what Enma had expected.

Using Shunpo, he got close to Yochihakaisha, and shouted: "Hado #33! **Soukatsui**!" sending a bright blue blast at the spirit's now-exposed right arm. It gave a satisfying cracking noise.

"Yes! It worked!" Enma said, more to himself than to Yochihakaisha, who started laughing as he broke free of the binding spell. "Weak! You seem to have forgotten one of my basic powers!" He said laughingly as his broken arm quickly snapped back into place and continued moving like nothing ever happened._ 'Although I must admit, he's gotten better at the incantation skip... I've got to watch out for that...' _The spirit thought, slightly worried.

The fight went on, with Enma constantly in defense, not knowing how to defeat the spirit. Just as he thought he was going to drop down from exhaustion, the Zanpakutou spirit disappeared with a small poof. _'Well that was lucky'_ He thought. "First day's over?" He shouted at Urahara, who yelled "Yup!" as an answer.

"Good." Enma said to himself. I'm gonna go take a bath." he looked around and yelled: "Billy!"

"Well, there's some hot springs supposed to be somewhere 'round here!" Kisuke yelled at him, which prompted Enma to yell: "Thanks." Just that moment, Billy came walking towards them. Quickly Enma returned to his Gigai.

"I'm going to change into my swimming trunks real quick for if someone wants to join me." Enma said, climbing up the ladder at an unbelievably high speed, sliding back down less than 2 minutes later, wearing white swimming trunks with black tribal markings on them and a blue towel across his left shoulder. Tatsuki wondered how he could have fought like that for over half a day and still move so fast. Also, she noticed a small tattoo between his shoulder blades. It was the same marking Yochihakaisha's manifestation had on his chest, but a lot smaller, only about 4 inch in diameter.

"Where were those springs again?" Enma asked Kisuke, as he arrived back at his previous training location.

"Somewhere in the back." Kisuke answered with a vague gesture, wandering back to the ladder.

"Okay. Whatever." Enma said shrugging as he walked into the direction where Kisuke had waved.

After about 15 minutes of searching Enma finally arrived at the hot springs. He sat down on the edge, rubbing the nasty burns and cuts he had gotten from Yochihakaisha's attacks, but as soon as he lowered himself into the water, he felt the pain disappear, and as he looked at his body, he saw the cuts were healing at an incredible rate.

_'Whoah... This place must be enhanced with Kido or something. This is awesome. No wonder Ichigo could keep this up for two full days and was able to fight captain Kuchiki afterward too... God... Yochihakaisha sure isn't going easy on me. He's a great guy, but he really loses it in battle.'_ he thought, amazed by the water's effects.

"Can I join?" He heard a voice say from behind him. He looked over his shoulder and was stunned by what he saw. Tatsuki was standing there wearing a blue bathing suit. His jaw dropped. "Hellooo! What're you looking at?" She said to him after a second. Enma quickly shook his head to clear it up and said: "N-nothing. Of course you can join. No need to ask. What's up?"

As she got in, she said: "I have a few questions for you again. In your spirit body, I saw you had a large amount of scars on your left arm. What caused it."

Enma hadn't prepared for this question, because he hadn't yet told Tatsuki about his and Ichigo's near-death experience earlier this week. "Got hit by a hollow whilst on a mission." He lied. "Bit me in the arm, and after I cut his head off, the body disappeared but the head stuck for some reason. Because I didn't want to get questioned about it at school, I asked Kisuke to leave them out on my Gigai."

Tatsuki chuckled at the idea of Enma with a hollow's head attached to his arm. Then she asked: "My second question was about the tattoo on your back. What is it?"

Enma closed his eyes for a second. Sad thoughts flooded his mind. "That tattoo... It's my old clan symbol. I had it applied together with my brother. He has the same tattoo, but a lot larger. Well... had, actually. He's gone now."

"Oh... What kind of man was your brother?" Tatsuki asked. Her curiosity won the battle with her pity for Enma. She could feel his sadness in his spiritual pressure too, which went from somewhat fiery to a cold, rainy-day feeling.

A wide, but sad smile appeared on Enma's face as he looked up to the sky painted on the roof. "My bro... In appearance, he was a lot like me, but a bit older, with the same gray hair, although shorter than mine, somewhat muscular, about the same color eyes... Mine are yellow, whereas his were a light brown. But in personality, we were completely different. Although he was honorable and trustworthy, like me," he said these words without even the slightest trace of arrogance, "he was more of a drill sergeant than a nice guy, although he had a heart made of gold. He was strict and easily angered, but also decisive and strong. I loved him, because he was my brother, and we did almost everything together when he was still there..."

"What was your brother's name?" Tatsuki asked.

"His name was... Kensei. Muguruma Kensei. Our last names differ because I dropped the name Muguruma after he was gone, and took on the name Kasei. Actually, it was a little wordplay my friends in my old division, the 10th, used to call me. Kasaitenma means fire demon. The tattoo on my back is the Muguruma family symbol. It's all I have left from my brother, else than a tattered haori, somewhere in our old house in the Rukongai... He used to be a captain, you see. 9th Division."

"You keep saying he's gone, but you've never even once said he was dead." She was silent for a moment. I really shouldn't be asking you all this. I feel like I'm invading..." Enma raised his hand. "No. If I want to get rid of this burden, I need to share it with someone I trust. And in neither the Soul Society, nor the World of the Living, there's anyone more suitable to share with than you." He said with a slight smile. Tatsuki felt the warm feeling she had felt often the last few days come up again as he said these words.

"Now... I should tell you what happened to my brother. One day, about 100 years ago, he was called away on a mission to find some disappeared Shinigami. When he and his lieutenant, Kuna Mashiro, arrived there, they found 10 Shinigami uniforms without the Shinigami in them, even though the socks were still in the sandals and all. After they reported, they were apparently attacked by something. The Gotei 13 sent heavy reinforcements. The next day, no-one knew what had happened to them. They had disappeared. " A tear trickled down Enma's cheek. "4 Captains and 4 lieutenants, including the lieutenant of the secretive Kido Corps, had disappeared. The Central 46 blamed it on Kisuke and Tessai, who themselves, blamed it on Aizen. Apparently, Aizen exposed them to the Hogyoku, turning them into half-hollows or something. I don't know the full truth, but I think they were right. Next day, it was said that Kisuke and Tessai, along with Shihoin Yoruichi, had fled from the Seireitei and were now branded as traitors. That was the last time I ever heard anything about my brother. I had no more family members and all of my brother's belongings, and thus a large part of my belongings, were taken away by the Gotei 13, never to be seen again. I had lost everything, but I still believe my bro is out there somewhere."

"Wow... That must have been hard on you. Now I understand why you always tried to change the subject whenever your brother came up..." Tatsuki said. She wondered what it would feel like, losing her parents along with everything she had.

"It was, really. After that, I dropped the name Muguruma, took on the name Kasei, left the 9th and joined the 11th, so I could fight more often. I wasn't just sad. I was also burning up with rage. I hated everything for a long time, until they stationed me in Berlin, Europe. It was about 60 years ago. Back then, the war you humans call World War 2 was raging across the world. At that time, I saved a young child whose parents were killed in a bombing. I realized I wasn't the only one who felt pain. Everyone had or will lose someone in their life. From that day on, I decided to start living with a more positive attitude, even though that... didn't always stick. Daily life went on, until I was sent here about a week ago. The rest is known to you. But we've taken up a lot of time, talking like this. I'm gonna go take a nap upstairs." He said, getting up and drying his hair with the towel. "I think it would be wise for you to do the same thing.

"Okay. I'll tag along." She said, grabbing her own towel and walking after him.

Once they were gone, two men appeared from behind one of the rocks.

"He has grown a lot since last time, hasn't he?" Urahara Kisuke asked the tall, muscular man standing next to him.

"Yeah, but I don't know if he'll survive his Bankai training with that attitude of his." The man answered.

"Maybe. But I think the girl motivates him enough to survive and learn it in time for him to acquire his full power." Kisuke answered with a smile.

"His full power? The Bankai is one thing, but he also needs to master his mask. I think he's completely unaware about it's existence." The tall man said, frowning.

"I think he'll make it. We've got some time left." Urahara answered.

"We'll see." Muguruma Kensei said, walking back to the ladder.

**Bankai Training, Day 2: Sunday Evening.**

The next evening, Enma and Tatsuki were back in the training ground. Enma had slept through the entire previous day, whilst Tatsuki had helped Jinta and Ururu with their chores. Enma yawned as he walked towards the Tenshintai and stabbed it. Yochihakaisha appeared in the real world again, stretching his arms and saying: "Ready for round two?"

"Born ready." Enma answered, raising his arms and saying: "Bakudo #26! **Kyokko**!" instantly disappearing from sight. "Oh, come on. I hate hide and seek." Yochihakaisha said, gathering icy spirit energy in his left hand.

"I won't let you!" Enma shouted, suddenly appearing behind the spirit. He put his arms under the spirit's armpits and put his hands into his neck, taking him into a submission hold. He ignored the burns from the flaming hair and shouted: _"Ye lord! Mask of blood and flesh, all creation, flutter of wings, ye who bears the name of Man! The darkest aspects of the heavenly bodies! Flames of the traitor's justice, reach for the sky and seize thy dreams out of the claws of the unworthy!" _he released his grasp on Yochihakaisha and kicked him away. He pointed his arms at the spirit, finishing the spell with:_ "_Hado #34! **Aokakiba**!*" Sending a bolt of green flames, which split open in the middle like a pair of jaws, at the spirit, striking head on.

"GODDAMNIT!" Yochihakaisha yelled after being thrown through several rocks. "That was painful. Painful but ineffective. You can't kill me with weak spells like that. You think your confidence will pull you through, but big words without power to back them up..." He raised his right hand. "IS ARROGANCE!" He yelled as he brought down his arm, ramming it into the ground up to his elbow. Enma didn't know what it was he just did, but he jumped up into the air, just to be certain. It turned out to be the right choice, because half a second after he jumped away, several spikes came up where he had just stood.

Tatsuki was watching this all with a worried face. Urahara's face was hidden behind his fan. "Arisawa-san." He said, turning to Tatsuki.

"What is it?" She asked. She still thought he was a bit creepy, but she was starting to get along with him.

"I see Enma-kun fighting like this... And it makes me wonder... Do you want to fight too?" He asked her, pulling his fan away to reveal a wide grin.

"Of course I do. But how can I? I'm no Shinigami, and I don't have any awesome powers like Chad, Uryuu or Orihime." She answered, looking at her feet with clenched fists.

"No. Not yet, but maybe your powers are just... latent. Chad and Orihime both felt powerless and wanted to help someone when they obtained their powers. You've never felt powerless. You always had trust in your abilities to protect Orihime. Even now, you don't feel powerless enough to materialize your will to protect." Kisuke answered, his grin still present.

"Y-You really think that?" Tatsuki asked, surprised at the chance to fight her friends.

"Yes. But I can hardly put you into a situation which is so perilous even you will feel hopeless. On the other hand... I may be able to help. Your friends obtained their powers due to continuous exposure to Ichigo's spirit pressure. Maybe, if you're exposed to enough spirit pressure, your powers will awaken." He answered, grinning even wider. "But not now. We should wait until these two are done."

As the two were about to turn back, Enma landed face-first in between them. "Ugh... That bastard... Oh fuck!" He said as he noticed Yochihakaisha falling towards him with a murderous look in his eyes and a blade made of fire in his hands. That was when he noticed where he had fallen. He knew Urahara would save himself, but Tatsuki... In the blink of an eye he got up, grabbed Tatsuki and made a mad dash for safety, but not before hearing a calm voice behind him say: "Awaken, Benihime."

He jumped several rocks further, put her down and ran in another direction. _'Dammit, dammit, dammit, DAMMIT! I should have watched where I was going! I almost got Tatsuki killed there. What did that creep mean with knowing how to beat him?' _Enma thought, furious at himself. How WAS he going to beat him? He had absolutely no idea. He didn't have his Zanpakutou, his Kido did nothing...

"**You're getting weak! Are you the same man who fought on equal grounds with Kurosaki Ichigo?**" A voice spoke inside his head.

_'What the hell? Who are you?' _He thought back.

"**What? I've been here for so long, and you noticed me only now? Start paying attention already.**" The voice said.

_'Huh? How long have you been here then?' _Enma thought, completely surprised by the mental invader.

"**Say, since your brother disappeared?**" The voice said.

_'W-What? What's his disappearance got to do with this?'_ Enma said, almost tripping over a rock.

"**I am your hate, and I feed on your fear. I am your anger, and I feed on your sadness. I am your despair, and I feed on your doubts. I have no name, but you know my kind very well. You've been fighting us for over a century... Something pop up yet?**" The voice spoke calmly.

"A hollow?" Enma mumbled.

"**Seems you're not as dumb as you seem. Yes. I am a hollow. I have been asleep in your soul for a century, feeding off your suppressed feelings of anger and loneliness. But ever since you've met that girl, those feelings have started to disappear. And without your Zanpakutou to suppress me, I have awakened, and let me tell ya, I wasn't expecting to find my host in such a pathetic situation.**" The voice said, still calm as ever. He even sounded a little playful.

_'Well, why should I ca-' _The thought was cut off by an explosion right in front of him.

"**Do not interrupt, Yochi!**" The voice spoke, but this time not inside his head. He looked around to see who had spoken. Then he realized he had said those words himself. Suddenly, he felt as if his head was cracking open. Tatsuki had been watching it all happen, and now she was horrified to see Enma suddenly collapse. Yochihakaisha walked towards him and raised his foot, which was instantly set aflame with white fire.

"Too bad. I expected more." He said with despise, but before he was capable of killing him, his foot was grabbed by Enma's hand.

"**I'm afraid I can't let you do that.**" Enma said with a strange voice, which sounded like two voices in one. One was his own, and the other was a somewhat high, mocking voice. As he got up, Tatsuki was surprised by the fact that the right half of his face was now covered in a strange mask. It had a strange air around it. It took the form of a strange white helmet, with red claw-like marks under his eye. It covered the entire right half of his face. As he gave out a horrifying shriek, Tatsuki saw the lower jaw was disconnected from rest. The upper jaw had a giant fang extending downwards. The helmet extended over his ear to the back of his head, ending in two red-ended points, but it left his hair free. His eyes had also changed color. The sclera had turned gray, and although the irises were still yellow, they were darker, and the spark of cheerfulness had disappeared.

"You! Dammit! I'm too late! Well then, I guess I'll have to go full out." Yochihakaisha said, his flaming hair growing longer.

"**I'm just going to finish this quickly. How about you just lay down and die. Cero!**" The hollowfied Enma said, pointing his left hand at Yochihakaisha, sending a blast of concentrated spirit energy at the spirit. Instead of Enma's usual orange spirit power, the Cero was a sickly pink with dark purple edges. Yochihakaisha only barely managed to dodge it.

"Give... Me... My... Body... BACK!" The possessed Enma said with his own voice, the right arm grabbing the mask.

"**What the...? Dude! I'm helping you out here!**" The hollow said.

"You're free to help... But this is MY body!" Enma grunted, starting to pull on the mask.

"**Ya don't want my help? Fine! Get killed by this piece of shit if you want to.**" The hollow said as Enma ripped off the mask. _'Strange. I expected a hollow to be less... helpful...'_ Enma thought.

"I'm going to have to ask you some questions after this." Enma said to his Zanpakutou spirit.

Yochi chuckled awkwardly. "Hehe... Yeah..."

"Come on! Weren't we in the middle of something?" Enma said with a grin.

"True. Let's go!"

Tatsuki watched the two start fighting again like nothing happened. "Well that was weird." She heard a voice next to her.

"Eeeeeeh?" She said, again startled by Urahara's sudden appearance. "Kisuke, warn me before you do that." She said to Urahara, who was now standing next to her.

"Sorry. Hrm... The hollow's awakening and development are staggering..." He mumbled.

"Say what?" Tatsuki asked.

"Oh," Urahara said with a grin. "Of course. Lemme ask you, did Enma tell you about the Hogyoku and what it did?"

"Yeah. It... removed the boundaries between hollow and Shinigami, right?" She said, as if she was reading it out of a textbook.

"Indeed. Enma's brother was exposed to the Hogyoku. But recently I sensed a hollow inside him, so Enma must have been exposed to it too, which isn't very surprising, seeing how he was always with his brother. Only, in some strange way, his Zanpakutou instinctively suppressed the hollow. Enma's cropped up feelings fed him for a century, but now it seems he has resurfaced, probably due to the fact that Yochihakaisha was removed from his inner world, thus breaking the seal on the hollow. But there's something wrong..." Urahara frowned, something he didn't do often. "The hollow only just awakened and it is already capable of possessing the body... Not to mention firing a Cero... Well, we've got other things on our hands right now."

The fight continued exactly the same as the last day. Eventually, Yochihakaisha disappeared.

"I'm going to bed. G'night Kisuke, Tatsuki..." Enma said, jumping all the way back up the ladder. As soon as he was inside his room, he sat down on his bed and crossed his legs. He put his blade on his lap and started to concentrate.

When he reopened his eyes, he was sitting sideways on the trunk of a heavily oversized tree. He looked around, to be satisfied to see some things had changed. When he had last been here, there had been a lot more willows there, and no animals. Now there were many oak trees, and boars, foxes and rabbits walking around on the ground.

He turned around and faced the two people standing behind him. One was his Zanpakutou spirit, the other looked exactly like himself, but with white hair, white skin, dark yellow irises, gray sclera and a white Shinigami uniform which was held together by a black belt.

"You two have a little explaining to do." Enma said with a serious face.

**That's it! Next chapter will be a little late because of vacation. All will be explained in the next chapter, together with the last day of Bankai Training!**

Aokakiba: Green Fire Fang.


	7. Chapter 7: The Blade Reborn 2: Demon God

**Hey, peeps, it's-a me, Mario... wait, scratch that. It's me, Enma! It's been a hell of a while since my last upload, so I hope you're happy with this! Mysteries will be unveiled and Enma will obtain his Bankai, or die trying! Read on!**

"You two have something to explain. First things first. Why is there a hollow inside my soul?" Enma said.

The hollow sighed. "**Guess we do, huh?**" He said, scratching his head. "**First, how much do you remember from the night your brother disappeared? I need to know how much you can recall.**"

"Okay." Enma said, starting to think back to that night. The scenery around them changed as Enma started talking.

_Time... To turn back the pendulum... Enma tells us a little more about his past..._

I was walking through the forest just outside Rukongai. It was... what? Two, three 'o clock? Whatever. A few hours past noon. At that moment, I was heading towards my brother's camp. He was on a mission, investigating several mysterious disappearances. At first I thought it was probably nothing, but when they found 10 empty Shihakusho, I decided to go take a look. Before I could enter the camp, I was stopped by a bald man with a mustache, whom I recognized as my brother's third seat at the time, Kasaki Heizo.

"Ah. It's you, Enma-san. Your brother is inside the tent." He said. I thanked him and walked towards the tent.

"Yo! Bro, it's me. I'm coming in!" I said. But before I could open the tent, a green-topped object came flying through the entrance. I sidestepped and turned around to see Lieutenant Kuna rolling on the ground, complaining: "Why did you dodge? You're so mean! Just as mean as your brother!"

I sighed. "I dodged because you would have slammed me halfway back to the Seireitei if I hadn't." Mashiro... She was kinda like a little sister to me at that time. An annoying, whiny little sister, but still, a little sister.

"Enma? What are you doing here?" A voice spoke from behind me. I turned around and faced my brother. "Well, I heard you found 10 empty Shihakusho. I came to check up on you guys, to make sure everything was okay. I don't want you to get yourself killed or anything." I answered with a grin. Even though my brother was a captain, and I was just a 10th Seat, I still liked to bug him once in a while.

"Everything's fine. By the way, I sent Todo to get support from the 12th Division a few hours ago, but he hasn't returned yet. We'll wait until nightfall. If he isn't back by then, I want you to go and look for him. Meanwhile, I want you to take up his patrols."

"Okay. I'll help wherever I can." I answered, smiling. I hadn't been planning on staying there anyway. After that, we discussed the rounds I had to do. The day passed without any further incidents.

That evening, Kensei came up to me and said: "Todo hasn't returned yet. See if you can find him, then return to the barracks."

"Will do. I'll see you again in a few days." I answered, unbeknownst of the disasters that were to happen that night.

I hadn't been running back for all that long when I met Todo. "Todo-san!" I shouted at him.

"Ah, Enma-san. I see you've paid your brother a visit." Todo said with his usual serious face. "He must have sent you to look for me."

I nodded. "Indeed. The 12th Division's support is underway, I take it?"

"Yes. Well, I have to return to the camp. I'll see you later." He answered, running off. I didn't know that would be the last time I saw him.

It was already dark, and I got this chilly feeling. I decided to hurry back. After about half a mile, I arrived at the edge of the forest. Suddenly, I started feeling nauseous. The rest is blank.

Later, I woke up to the face of Shihoin Yoruichi's head of guard, Soifon, who is now the 2nd Division's Captain. I felt weak, and the only thing I could bring out was: "Where... Am I?"

"You're at the 4th Division barracks. It's been 4 days since Yoruichi-sama found you knocked out at the edge of the forest. She was probably planning to visit Captain Muguruma, just like you. She told me to watch over you." She said with a sad face.

"Kensei?" I muttered. And then I felt it. Both his and Mashiro's Reiatsu had disappeared. Not just theirs, but several more. Captain Hirako, Captain Aikawa, Lieutenant Yadomaru... None of them were still present. Instantly, I felt my strength returning to me. I sat up and said: "Where is he? I can't feel his presence anymore!"

Soifon looked at me and said: "This is supposed to be a secret, but your brother has been exposed to a lethal substance by that swine Urahara Kisuke, along with 3 other captains and 4 Lieutenants, including Lieutenant Kuna. This... substance or whatever it is has turned them into some kind of half-hollows. Urahara tried to blame it on Lieutenant Aizen, but there was no way he could have done it. The half-hollows were sentenced to death, Urahara was sentenced to have his powers drained, and Kido Corps Captain Tsukabishi, who had used forbidden Kido at the location of the experiments, was sentenced to high-level imprisonment, but before that could happen..." She suddenly stopped talking.

"What? What happened?" I asked, shocked.

"Before that, they were all taken... By Yoruichi-sama. Their current whereabouts are unknown."

I was staggered. Staggered by Urahara's and Yoruichi's betrayal. Staggered by my brother's hollowfication and disappearance. Staggered by the fact that my life collapsed within the reach of a few days.

The 2nd Division barracks faded away as the huge forest returned. "And that's all I can remember. A few days later, I returned to the 9th Division barracks, and requested my transfer to the 11th. That's about it."

"**I see. You remember more than I expected. You've got one helluva memory there, pal.**" The hollow said, looking slightly impressed, which prompted Enma to grin.

"I'll fill in the blank spot for you." Yochihakaisha said. "The moment you started feeling nauseous was probably the exact same moment your brother was exposed to the Hogyoku. Seeing how you were still in the area, I think you were affected by the Hogyoku, but in a lesser way. This guy here," He pointed at the hollow who was standing next to him, "was formed in your inner world, but he was very weak back then, so I could easily suppress him."

Enma nodded. "I think I get it, but why hasn't this guy made any attempts to attack me yet, and why did he help me today?" He asked, confused about the hollow.

"**During that century I was locked away in your soul, I was still capable of seeing everything you did. At first, I fed on your pain and suffering because it was... delicious, but later, I just fed on them because they kept me alive. Strangely enough, slowly but surely I started to understand the sadness you felt. For some strange reason, I started to form what you call a 'common sense', something which hollows usually lack. Seeing everything you went through in our life, together with the 'emotions' that came along with the common sense, I started feeling pity for you. Recently, I started realizing I... I wanted to help you. I want to help you find your brother and protect your loved ones. I'm still really confused about all this... Compassion and friendship. I don't understand it yet after a century of hate and anger.**" The hollow said, looking a little uneasy. Enma didn't understand it all. A hollow with feelings and common sense? That was quite unusual.

Enma smiled. "Hey, I think you're just one-of-a-kind. But you said you had no name? Then how am I going to call you next time I see you? Can't keep calling you 'hollow', now can I?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

The hollow shrugged and scratched his head again. "**Like hell I know. I've been asleep for over a hundred years. Make something up.**"

Enma sighed. He wasn't really good at making up names. He thought for a moment and said: "How about... Shiro?*"

"**Will do.**" The hollow said, nodding in agreement.

"This is nice and all," Yochihakaisha interrupted, "But I'd like you to stay out of our training from now on."

"Indeed. Even though I appreciate your help," Enma said, starting to grin, "I'm still the one who's supposed to pummel him into submission."

Shiro scratched his head again and started grinning too. "**Guess so. Fine, I'll stay out of it, but only if you won't get yourself killed.**"

Enma chuckled. "Don't worry 'bout it. I already promised Yochi the same thing, and I'm a man of my word."

The hollow started grinning too. "**Okay. Well, I think it's a good idea if you rest for now.**" he said.

"Will do. See you." Enma answered, closing his eyes, leaving his inner world. When he opened his eyes again, he saw a familiar face in front of him. It was a red-framed face with weird eyebrows.

"GYAAH! Vice-Captain Abarai! What are you doing here?" Enma yelled, shocked at the sudden appearance of the 6th Division's Vice-Captain.

"I'm stationed here, remember? While I'm here, I usually stay at Kisuke's." Renji answered.

"Really? Well... Okay... But where have you been this past week?" Enma asked, still a little unnerved by Renji.

"In the Soul Society, picking up orders. I'm late because Vice-Captain Shuhei wanted me to wait until your transfer was complete. You're now officially the new 8th Seat of the 9th Division." Renji said with a small grin. He held out his hand. "Congratulations."

Enma shook his hand. "E-Eighth seat? Wow! But... I'll probably have to return to the Soul Society soon, huh?" he said, thinking about Tatsuki.

Renji's grin widened. "Don't worry. Captain Hitsugaya already informed the Gotei 13 that you were here. At Vice-Captain Matsumoto's request, he asked for you to be given a place in his Advance Guard. I think it was a good idea, but why would Matsumoto ask for you to be stationed here?"

Enma grinned back at him. "I was sent on a mission together with her a long time ago. Well, knowing what Kisuke's like, he probably already told you about what I've been doing these past 2 days."

"Well, actually," Renji said, "It was your girlfriend Arisawa-san," Enma frowned. "who told me about what you've been doing. What? Kisuke told me she was your new girlfriend."

"And you believe everything Kisuke says?" Enma asked, raising an eyebrow.

Renji was silent for a moment. An awkward grin appeared on his face. "Heh. You're right. But Enma-san," His face turned serious. "Do you really think it was a good idea to tell her about the Soul Society and everything?"

Enma looked down and sighed. "Abarai-san, you would be surprised about what she already knew. She knew what hollows were, what Shinigami were, and even a bit about what Arrancar were. I saw no harm in telling her."

"Okay." Renji answered, walking towards the door. "You'd better get some rest. I know how hard Bankai training is."

"Thanks." Enma answered, lying down on his bed. Within a few moments he was asleep.

**Bankai Training, Day 3: Monday Evening.**

"Well, here we are again." Enma said, rubbing his eyes. Even though he had slept the entire day, it had been a restless, dreamless sleep. He stabbed the Tenshintai and jumped away.

Before the spirit was even fully materialized, a fireball came flying at Enma, who reacted with: "Hado #4! **Byakurai**!"

The resulting blue lightning bolt pierced the fireball, causing it to explode. Half a second later, Yochihakaisha came rushing through with a clawed left arm and a spiked right one. Enma was only just able to dodge the spike, but the claw almost slashed his throat as a result. He turned his arm upwards with a lack of better defense. When he jumped back, his lower arm had 4 gashes in it.

"Tsk. Have you gotten slower?" Yochihakaisha said, sweeping his left arm down quickly, removing the blood on his claws. "Screw you." Enma replied, grasping his bleeding left arm with his right hand.

"Insulting me? Childish..." the spirit answered, holding up his right hand."Now you've angered me. Time to show you how to use my power correctly. **Raiso**!" he shouted. A spear materialized out of nowhere. He threw it at Enma, who could only just dodge it with Shunpo. The resulting explosion caused the rock which Tatsuki, Billy (who had been helping Tessai the past 2 days) and Urahara were standing on to shake heavily.

"Heh. Yochi's really getting into this, isn't he?" Billy said with a grin. "But if he thinks that's enough to beat Enma, he's got a lot more coming for him."

"What do you mean?" Tatsuki asked, a little worried about Enma.

"Enma has been training his Kido a lot more than he has shown until now." Billy said, still grinning.

Tatsuki got a little confused. "Why doesn't he use it then?"

It was Urahara who answered. "This training was designed specifically for a 3-day length. Not a day longer or shorter. Enma is still looking for the right moment to strike."

Tatsuki felt a little more relaxed by this knowledge, and turned her attention back to the fight.

Enma was jumping from rock to rock as Yochi kept firing Raiso at him. Suddenly, he lost his footing and fell. "You're mine!" The Zanpakutou said, moving in for the kill, but just before he landed, Enma stretched out his left hand and said: "Bakudo # 4! **Hainawa**!"

A yellow energy rope came flying out of his hand, binding Yochihakaisha's arms together. When the spell struck, Yochi lost his concentration and came falling down, yanking on the rope. Enma drew a symbol in the air with his hands and calmly said: "Bakudo #9. **Geki**." enveloping the spirit in a red light.

"I have you now! Bakudo #61! **Rikujokoro**!" he said with a grin. The six bars of light struck the falling Zanpakutou, locking him in place in mid-air.

Yochihakaisha was speechless for a moment. "A level 60 Bakudo without incantation? How the hell did you do that?"

"If only you would sleep less and pay more attention to how I'm doing... Maybe then you would have realized my reiatsu has been steadily increasing the past few years." Enma said, still grinning.

"Hado #1. **Sho**." The spirit was thrown into a rock. "Bakudo #63. **Sajo Sabaku**." Yellow energy chains flew out of Enma's hands, entangling Yochihakaisha. "Bakudo #62. **Hyapporankan**." he said, throwing a purple energy rod which split into a hundred more, spiking Yochi to a rock.

"Let's finish this." Enma said, the grin disappearing. He raised his hands and said: "Hado #54. **Haien**. Hado #58. **Tenran**. Hado #63. **Raikoho**."

"T-Triple Incantation?" Yochihakaisha shouted, absolutely staggered.

Enma's grin returned. "Yep." He said as a purple ball of flames, covered in a cage of lightning, with a tornado driving it, was released from his hands. The resulting explosion caused large amounts of rocks and dust to fly everywhere. A large crater was left behind with a pillar of smoke in the middle.

Enma raised his hands again, took a deep breath and started chanting. "_Limit of the thousands hands, respectful hands, unable to touch the darkness. Shooting hands unable to reflect the blue sky. The road that basks in light, the wind that ignited the embers, time that gathers when both are together, there is no need to be hesitant, obey my orders. Light bullets, eight bodies, nine items, book of heaven, diseased treasure, great wheel, grey fortress tower. Aim far away, scatter brightly and cleanly when fired! _Hado #91!**Senju Koten Taiho**!" Immediately after finishing the incantation, several white spears of light flew towards the pillar of smoke . Enma used Shunpo to get as far away as possible. He landed next to Billy, Tatsuki and Urahara, breathing heavily. "That should have done it." He said as a huge explosion took place on the other side of the training room.

"**Enma!**" a voice resounded through his head.

_'S-Shiro? What's up?'_

"**Don't let your guard down, man. He isn't down yet.**"

"Shit..." Enma whispered, dashing towards the crater. When he arrived, he saw Yochihakaisha sitting on one knee, still covered in the Bakudo.

"Fuck, pal... You've gotten a lot stronger, I'll admit that, but like I said, your Kido can't destroy me, only tire me. **Reika.**" He said, blasting away the binding spells with a blue blast, leaving a circle of ice around himself. "Even though you attack without hesitation, you still draw your power from the weak, useless emotion of fear. All I can sense from you is fear. Fear of death. Fear of your brother really being dead. Fear of losing your honor. Fear of losing your friends. Fear of losing that girl." The spirit said, standing up. "If you keep clinging to fear, you won't win. Show me courage, and maybe then you can defeat me."

"What are you talking about?" Enma said.

"**Enma! Yochi likes to talk big but the only thing he did was study all the Kido you know and guarded himself to them. You only caught him off guard by using them without incantation. He might be acting like a maniac right now, but it's all an act. He let his guard down to only one Kido spell, but I don't know which one...**" Shiro's voice sounded.

Enma frowned and started brainstorming. He knew a lot of spells, and wasn't planning on using them all. He was already exhausted, and he didn't want to use the last shreds of spiritual power he had left to cast a useless spell. Then he noticed something. The place where he had hit Yochihakaisha with his Sho was now bruised and swollen. It was the only spell that had taken full effect.

"I understand now." He said, both to Shiro and Yochihakaisha. "You're right. This entire fight, I've been running around. Time to finish this. You know the technique my brother taught me, right?"

"Of course. **Shokireme**, right?" The spirit said.

"Indeed. He designed it as a way to fight whilst in his Gigai. When I was training my Kido, I developed it further and merged it with my own spirit power. I've made the weakest Hado my strongest technique. You're the first one to see it." Enma said. He crossed his arms in front of his chest.

Billy laughed. "Finally, he's going to use it. It took him at least three decades to perfect this technique, you know."

"This kid sure is strong." A voice spoke from Tatsuki's left. She looked at the person who had spoken. A tall, dark-skinned, purple-haired woman was standing next to her. "This must be Kasei Enma, right?" She asked Tatsuki.

"Yes, he is. I... My name is Arisawa Tatsuki. Nice to meet you." Tatsuki said.

"Oh, of course. We haven't been introduced, have we? My name is Shihoin Yoruichi." Yoruichi said with a wide smile. "But it's strange. The gathering of reiatsu... How did he learn that?"

Tatsuki thought back to the day Enma helped her with the gang who attacked her. "He said he had learned to fight from his brother, and he just said he perfected that technique by merging it with his own spiritual power."

"I know what you're thinking." Kisuke interrupted. "It feels a lot like your own Shunko, but weaker. Well, it's not really weaker, but more... refined in some way."

"The core technique..." Yoruichi muttered. "Is he by any chance..." Kisuke nodded. "He is."

"I see." She said.

"_One thousand virgin blades, gather upon my hands._" Enma said, stretching his hand to his sides. A small flash enveloped his arms in semi-transparent orange flames, forming shimmering orange gauntlets. "_One thousand jagged claws, gather upon my feet._" Two small orange whirlwinds formed on his legs, solidifying into shimmering orange boots. "_One thousand pale wings, gather now upon my soul._" He said, and two shimmering, orange, semi-transparent wings grew on his back. The upper half of his back and his shoulders were covered in armor comparable to the boots and gauntlets. "_The great beast has come, the demon brings the end. _**Tenma Sho**." As he finished the chant, his entire body started glowing orange.

He raised his head. "You see this? This is my ultimate technique. Unfortunately, I can't keep it up for a long time, let alone in this state. Let's make this quick" he said. He flapped the wings and shot forward. Spinning around in mid-air, he kicked Yochihakaisha in the face at full power, sending him flying through several rocks. Releasing some power through his legs, he leaped towards Yochihakaisha in a single jump.

"**Jemuhou**" It resounded from the rubble.

Blowing himself to the right with a large release in power, Enma merely dodged a rain of gems. As he landed on the rocky floor he heard: "Good... That's what I want to see! That fire in your eyes! The fear is gone! Let's finish this with one single strike." whilst Yochihakaisha jumped out of the rubble, a few meters in front of Enma.

Enma nodded and crouched, with his hands backwards.

Yochihakaisha whispered: "**Dokihi**." Creating a ball of fire around his hand.

The jumped towards each other. Enma's hands were still on his back. Yochi said: "Still too slow!" as he tried to punch Enma.

"Not likely." Enma said, dodging the attack and bringing his right gauntlet up with amazing speed, channeling his last remaining power through his fist.

"Tsk..." Yochihakaisha whispered, his bones cracking. "You're not supposed to dodge the dramatic final strike..."

The spirit returned to his blade form in a small flash.

"I understand now... The last barrier between us was my own fear..." Enma whispered as he picked up his Zanpakutou and reattached it to his belt. "About time... I realized..." He said, just before his eyes went glassy and he collapsed.

**Shiro: White**

**Tenmasho: Demon Thrust**

**By the way, If you don't know all the Kido I use in the story, you can find them on the Bleach wiki. Just look it up on google.**


	8. Chapter 8: The Blade Reborn 3: Rage God

"Wh... Where am I?" Enma said, opening his eyes.

"Hey, sleepy. About time you woke up." A familiar voice spoke from somewhere near him. He had lost all sense of direction, every muscle and bone in his body was aching and he had a splitting headache.

He sat up and looked to his left. Tatsuki was standing next to his bed. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

Enma blinked. The mist in his head cleared. Even though his entire body ached, it was the soft, stubborn ache of healing wounds. Furthermore, he could feel his new-found strength rushing through his veins. "I... I feel great, considering what happened. What time is it now?" He asked, looking at his hands. He noticed he was in his Gigai again.

"You've only been asleep for a few hours. Tessai and Kisuke healed most of your wounds. It's 12 'o clock, Tuesday. I've already been to school, but under the ruse that I was still sick. That's why I'm back so soon." She sighed. "Next time I see him, I'm going to punch Keigo's lights out. Apparently he spread the rumor we're a couple now or something like that. The entire school's buzzing about it."

Enma chuckled. "I already expected something like that to happen. I don't care what people say, really. But I think I'll join you in the punching-Keigo's-lights-out." Enma said, dropping his head back on his pillow. "You know... I just realized that with the obtaining of my Bankai, my reiatsu must have shot skywards. I can feel it. Every fiber of my body is shaking with the power." He stretched his right hand upwards. It was shaking heavily. "It's going to take a while to get used to that..."

"Well, I think you should be happy. You've survived your Bankai training, even though it's really dangerous. And it seems that while I was watching you train, I got more and more used to reiatsu. I didn't even feel dizzy when you used that strange technique." Tatsuki said with a smile.

Enma started grinning. "Tenma Sho. That was the first time I used it. It felt amazing. 3 decades well spent."

The door was slammed open. Within a second, Billy was standing in front of Tatsuki and Enma had his Zanpakutou drawn. Renji came running in, Zabimaru resting on his shoulder. "Enma! Menos Grande, and lots of them!"

Enma's eyes widened. "What kind of Menos? Just Gillians, or are there Adjuchas?"

"We've only seen Gillians up until now, but more are still appearing. We don't know if there will be Adjuchas soon." Renji answered. Enma was shocked. Menos Grande? He heard Shiro's voice echo through his head, ringing slightly at the edges as always. "**Be ready. It could be an attack from those Halcones. Let me get this straight. If you get in trouble, you HAVE to let me take control for a moment. Even though your Shunpo can travel further, my Sonido is much faster.**"

Enma nodded mentally. Even though he didn't like the sensation of helplessness he had the first time Shiro possessed him, he disliked the thought of dying even more. He remembered well how much pleasure the Halcones (at least two of them, the older-looking one, Sechar, didn't seem to take much pleasure in it) took in the scarring of his and Ichigo's bodies and he didn't doubt about it that they would kill him without hestitation.

"Let's go then." Enma said. "Billy. Take care of Tatsuki." Billy nodded as Enma and Renji left. Billy felt something strange. Like it was an omen. _'You should worry less about her, and more about yourself...'_ the Artificial Soul thought.

Karakura town was peaceful that day. Children playing in the sun. Youth just hanging around. Everything was relaxed. If only they could see what we see.

"Tsugi No Mai! Hakuren!" Kuchiki Rukia chanted while a huge blast of ice was released from the tip of Sode No Shirayuki, encasing a Gillian in ice. A second too late, she noticed another Gillian's spiritual pressure behind her.

"Growl! Haineko!" Rangiku's sword release was just in time. The Gillian was shredded to bits by the ashes. "Are you OK, Rukia?" Rangiku asked.

"I'm fine. Thank you." Rukia responded. "But we had better watch out. More and more Gillians are still appearing."

A single moment after Rukia said it, three Garganta opened in front of them. Six Gillians came out, Cero's charging.

"Oh, no, you WON'T! **Hae**!" a voice resounded. A familiar grey haired figure dropped out of the sky, straight onto one of the Menos' heads, instantly killing it. With a sound like a raging wind, Enma disappeared from sight, reappearing before another Menos' mask. With a wild swing of his right fist, Enma caused the Cero to explode straight into the Menos' own face.

"2 down, 4 to go!" Enma said, raising his hands towards the Gillians. "**Raiso**!"

Two blue lightning bolts shot out of his hands, blowing up two of the four Menos'.

2 to go.

Ceros fully charged.

Enma simply stood there, looking at his feet as if in deep thought.

_*Fwoooooooom*_

Two red Ceros came flying straight at Enma, who simply brought his arm backwards and struck the two beams head on, disintegrating them. "Hado #63. **Raikoho**." Enma said calmly, sending a huge bolt of lightning out of his right hand. The bolt was easily large enough to destroy both Gillians at once.

Enma looked at his hands. Such power... He could get used to that. He liked it. "So this is what it feels like, possessing a Bankai..." He muttered to himself. "Rukia, Rangiku." Enma said, shifting his attention to them. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine. Thanks, Enma." Rangiku responded.

"No problem." Enma said with a smile, sure his brother would be proud to see him like this. He could feel the power flowing through him, giving him more confidence then ever. Suddenly, he sensed a huge amount of reiatsu. Not so much huge as in 1 person, but just an awesome amount of strong hollows -probably Menos- using their reiatsu to rip apart reality to enter the living realm.

"Heads up!" Enma shouted at Rangiku and Rukia. Garganta started opening everywhere. 1- 2- 3- 5- 9- 14- "Where are all these guys coming from? Aizen's forces are really going full-out!" Enma said. He had never seen so many Garganta open at once. To make things worse, it weren't just the shattering-style Garganta normal hollows used and the curtain-like type the Gillians used, there were also several Arrancar-like Garganta, but rougher. Enma recognized them as Adjuchas Gargantas. Out of nowhere, he felt a huge reiatsu bear down on him. The highest and furthest Garganta was an Arrancar Garganta. There were three figures in it. Enma recognized the middle one.

"You again..." Enma snarled as he saw a face forever engraved into his memory, with green hair and a wicked grin. "Ricardo Paradiaca. You've got some guts, showing your face around here." Enma said with a grimace.

"And why would that be?" the third Halcones answered. "Last time, I almost killed you with a single shot."

"I've grown a lot since that." Enma answered. He slammed his fists together. "Bankai!"

A huge explosion of orange reiatsu blinded Ricardo, Rangiku and Rukia. The reiatsu started swirling around, emitting heat, pressure, wind and an aura of power. It slowly changed color from orange to sea-green. Then, suddenly, it disappeared. Enma was standing there, his appearance changed into a being of awe and power.

He was wearing a perfectly fitting chainmail armor which was made from a strange, bluish material. On his chest, shoulders, legs and arms there were white plates of armor with sea-green tribal markings and patterns. He had a long, beige cloak wrapped around his neck, reaching easily down to his ankles. It also functioned as a scarf, covering almost his entire face, up to his eyes. In his right hand, there was a huge, jagged katana. It was at least 1.5 meters long. There were white-and-blue flames coming out of the blade's edge and there two sentences written on the blade, one on each side. One side said 光の死に対する怒り, the other one said 深海獣、上昇と戦う. "Yochihakaisha Akuma(2)." Enma said, his face stern and his yellow eyes burning with strength. There was a green glint in them.

"He really did it..." Rukia muttered.

Ricardo stood speechless for a moment, before erupting into a fit of laughter. "You really think _that_ is going to beat me? Casco! Cisca! I'll leave the rest to you. There's no-one worth fighting here."

The two figures behind Ricardo stepped out of the shadows. Even though one was clearly female and the other male, they were almost identical. Their hair was a strange beige color and their eyes were blood red. Both of them had two white horns extending out from their foreheads, probably their mask remnants. Paradiaca turned around as the Garganta closed behind the two Arrancar. "Yes, Lord Paradiaca." the two of them said, disappearing with a soft thump. Enma shouted: "Rukia, Rangiku, get reinforcements and kill those hollows! I'll take care of these two!" He quickly raised the katana over his head, blocking the two attacks from different angles. He was driven several feet downwards by the force behind the attacks.

Enma immediately realized he was fighting two formidable opponents who were used to fighting together. This was going to be a rough fight. Regaining his composition, Enma put all his strength behind an upward slash, meant to decapitate the two of them. They dodged and the woman, Cisca, tried to stab Enma, who deflected the blade and kicked the woman in the stomach with an armored boot, sending her tumbling through the air. A second too late, he noticed the man, Casco, appearing behind him, attacking him with a strike meant to take his head off. Enma launched himself up in the air, jumping over the blade with a backflip, immediately retaliating with a stab, which was dodged with a Sonido. Casco reappeared next to Cisca, several meters away from Enma.

"Who are you two? I demand that you identify yourselves!" he shouted, his blade at the ready.

"We are the lord Paradiaca's Esbirro(3), Casco and Cisca Gemini!" the man said with a smug face. "Our master found you unworthy of fighting him, and thus we will finish you off for him." The Gemini twins stretched their arms out towards Enma. He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as two yellow, twisted, evil energy balls formed themselves on their hands. "**Cero**!"

_'Enma!'_ A voice sounded through his head, but it wasn't Shiro's. It was Yochihakaisha. _'With your Bankai, your elemental abilities have been given a small... Fuck that. A HUGE upgrade. Time to show 'em who's boss. The first new ability I'll show you is..."_

"**Kaken Jemuhou**(4)!" Enma shouted, ripping off the chest-plate with an armored hand. Instantly, all of the armor on his body shattered into a rain of white and silver shards. He was now standing in only his chainmail equipment, held together by several straps of leather. Enma held his sword in front of him. The shards of armor gathered in front of his hands, forming a mirror.

The two Ceros collided with the mirror, but instead of being reflected, the mirror just... absorbed them. Enma lowered his hands again, and the mirror moved downwards along with them. "That's good for you, but I ain't even got the slightest idea what an Esbirro might be." Enma said with a raised eyebrow. Even though these two were strong, their Cero's were about as strong as an Adjuchas', which couldn't even stop his standard Jemuhou, let alone his Kaken Jemuhou.

"I take it you know what a Fracción is?" the woman said. "An Esbirro is like a Fracción. The Halcones have the right to pick any Arrancar as their direct subordinates. By rank, we are in between the Fracción and the Espada, although they hold hardly any jurisdiction over us. That makes us some of the most powerful Arrancar around."

"Okay, I think I get it." Enma said, scratching his head with his left hand. "But you still think you can beat me?"

"Why you arrogant little..." Casco said. Cisca turned red with anger. "We'll shatter that shield, and you along with it!" she snarled as the two of them stormed forwards. Enma simply grinned and held the shield back up. Everything was going according to plan. The Arrancar both struck the shield head on with their blades.

Sparks flying everywhere, Enma was pushed back several feet. "You think you can beat us? You're no match for us!" Casco said to Enma, whose face was still hidden behind the shield. He was pushed back even further when the woman stopped attacking and started firing strange yellow balls at him.

"Sorry. I was never good at dodgeball, so I think I'll just take the blows." Enma said, bracing himself and stopping in mid-air. Because of their momentum, Casco's face was slammed full-speed into the reflective shield. Grabbing his face, he stumbled backwards. He lowered his hands, saying: "Why you piece of-" He was cut short as Enma roundhouse-kicked him in the face, sending him flying towards the woman. The two of them crashed into each other.

"What was that weird attack you just used... Cisca, was it?" Enma said, the shield hovering at his side. Before he knew it, Cisca reappeared behind him and shot him in the back with another one of the attacks, resulting in a large explosion.

"That's called a Bala. It's weaker then a Cero, but 20 times faster!" she said, grinning madly.

The smoke settled, and Enma reappeared, just standing there, not even moved an inch, the only result of the Bala being a small black stain on his back. "How pathetic. Your Ceros could not reach me. What made you think a weak attack like that would do anything else than annoy me?" Enma asked, his eyes glinting with a triumphant green.

The man growled with rage. "We'll see!" he hissed. The twins raised their blades into the air.

"Curse! **Diablo**(5)!" Cisca snarled.

"Claw! **Demonio**(6)!" Casco hissed.

A purple explosion blinded Enma and temporarily interrupted the battle around him. As Enma averted his eyes from the glow, he realized he had been so caught up in his fight he hadn't even noticed that Vice-Captain Abarai and Captain Hitsugaya had joined the fray.

A huge spiritual pressure made Enma return his attention to the two Arrancar. Their forms had changed. Both of them now had a pair of wings on their backs, Cisca a pair of black feathered wings and Casco a pair of bat wings. There were extensions growing out of their horns, creating some sorts of helmets around their heads. They had grown long animal-like claws and talons. "These are our true forms. In the ranks of Lord Aizen's army, we are known as the Demon Twins.

Again they pointed their fingers at him. "Feel the wrath of hell. **Cero**." they said, almost praying. Two purple blasts were sent out of their claws towards Enma who simply raised the shield again. The two attacks clashed, and again the Ceros were absorbed, but then, large cracks appeared all over the shield.

"You're ours now!" Casco said, charging forward. The two Arrancar struck the shield.

"I'm tired of you." Enma snarled.

"Disappear."

The shield shattered into thousands of tiny white, silver and reflective shards, creating a shining rain. Enma simply flicked his hands as if he was waving them away. The shards flew into the twins, ripping their bodies to shreds.

The slivers returned to his body, reforming his armor. The Gemini twins were falling down as they disappeared. The last thing they heard were Enma's last message to them.

"The Demon twins, huh? I was known as the Fire Demon once. Do you know how things go in Hell? Strong demons destroy and devour the weaker. At the moment you crossed swords with me, your fate was sealed. My Kaken Jemuhou devoured your reiatsu every time you struck it. The more reiatsu it absorbs, the more numerous and the sharper the shards become. The stronger demon devoured the two weaker ones."

As the twins faded, Enma thought about what he just did. He took out two Arrancar, supposedly quite powerful, with minimal effort, using only a single attack. He felt a triumphant feeling filling his chest as his confidence got another boost.

_'Good.'_ Yochi's voice sounded through his head. _'I'll teach you the next attack when we need it. For now, just concentrate on the hollows.'_

Enma nodded and flew towards the nearest hollow with a bang and the sound of raging winds. After several minutes of chopping hollows Enma heard Captain Hitsugaya's voice over the rage of battle. "There are too many! We're going to release the limit!"

Enma looked up towards the two Vice-Captains and the Captain and shouted: "Don't worry. I've got this."

"You sure, Kasei?"

"Like I said, don't worry." Enma said, flash stepping backwards until he saw all hollows clearly.

_'Okay. Guess it's time for the next attack. Your next attack is fast and big, but I'm sure you'll find a use for man-to-man combat too. The name is...'_

Enma held up his hand and a yellow lightning bolt struck his hand out of the blue. With a flash, an ornate golden spear appeared in his hand. At the same moment, the air behind him seemed to ripple like water during the rain. "**Senken Raiso**(7)!" Enma chanted, throwing the spear. As soon as it left his hand, spears similar to the one he threw appeared out of the rip in reality behind him, shooting towards the hollows. Every time a spear struck, the explosion was large and blindingly bright.

_'Kinda makes me think of a can of bug spray...'_ Enma thought as he watched the hollows get annihilated. '**Explosive spiritual bug spray...**' Shiro finished the thought in his head. _'That's the Senken Raiso for __ya...'_ Yochi added. Enma couldn't help but chuckle. What a strange bunch they were. Hollow, Shinigami and Zanpakutou cracking jokes over their battle. Enma could get used to it.

Enma's happy moment was interrupted by a huge reiatsu appearing behind him. With superhuman speed, he brought the blade around his back, blocking the strike.

"So, you killed Cisca and Casco. That doesn't matter. I'll replace them." Paradiaca's voice spoke behind him. Swiftly, Enma Flash Stepped backwards, taking a stance. Ricardo shot forward, driving Enma back several feet further. Enma quickly swiped his blade to the left, punching Ricardo in the face with his right gauntlet, sending him flying for a good 30 feet.

"Damn you..." the third Halcones said, quickly regaining his footing, his face turning red. "I'll get you for that one, you bastard!"

"**Senken Raiso**." Enma chanted. Ripples in reality started forming around Paradiaca. Before he knew it, a thousand crackling golden spears were pointed at him.

The spears shot out, attacking Paradiaca from all angles. Again, Enma had to avert his eyes from his opponent. A small mushroom cloud formed on the spot where Ricardo stood.

"That should've done it..." Enma whispered to himself.

His feeling of triumph turned to horror as he felt cold steel piercing straight through his chainmail armor into his flesh. He quickly shifted his weight to stop the blade from piercing his spine at the cost of ripping the wound open further. Ricardo was behind him, grinning madly, with only his coat burned. Red blood dripped off his blade as Enma reached for his lower back, trying to gauge how serious the wound was. It was pretty bad.

"You're mince meat now..." the green-haired Arrancar said, charging at the weakened Enma.

He closed his eyes.

_Farewell, Kisuke._

_Farewell, Billy._

_Farewell, bro._

_Farewell, Tatsuki._

_Nice knowing you all._

_Guess this is it._

"**This ain't no time for drama. Open your eyes and see what's going on, ya pussy.**"

Enma opened his eyes to see the third Halcones get pushed back by an orange-haired, masked figure in a black coat.

_'Ichigo?'_ Enma thought. _'What's he doing here? And what's that mask?'_

"**It seems almost as if he is forcing his inner hollow to do his bidding. After this, we should ask him how he does that. I'd like to learn how to do that.**" Shiro contemplated.

_'True. His reiatsu... It's massive.'_

"Che. Enough playing around. I've seen the full extent of your power, but alas, it wasn't my mission to kill you." Paradiaca said. "'Till next time" A grin appeared on his face as he opened his Garganta.

With a roar, Ichigo charged. Enma noticed his voice was somewhat ragged and metallic. _'Did I sound like that when you possessed me?'_

"**Nah. With you, it sounded as if I was talking. Lot less scary.**"

Enma sighed, wondering if Shiro was actually serious.

Ichigo was just a second too late to follow Paradiaca into the Garganta.

"Kurosaki." he intoned. "Thanks for helping me out. I would have been killed if it wasn't for you, and I'm afraid I'll have to ask another favor of you."

With a growl, Ichigo put his hand on his face, and the mask disappeared, revealing his usual scowl. "What is it?"

"**Let's just say we have a little situation here.**" Shiro said, his mask manifesting on Enma's face.

Instinctively, Ichigo attacked Enma. Shiro raised his arm and blocked the sword with his combined armor and Hierro. "**Calm down, Ichigo. I'm not planning on attacking anyone.**" Shiro said, calmly pushing the sword aside. His mask cracked and fell off his face.

"I have absolutely no problem with the fact that I have a hollow residing inside my soul. I want to know how to control his power. Right now, if I want to utilize it, I have to let Shiro take over. You, on the other hand, just summoned the mask and remained in control."

"Wait, you're saying your hollow isn't some insane, battle-crazy maniac?" Ichigo said, raising an eyebrow. Somehow, he was able to retain his scowl. "I'm starting to get jealous of you."

Enma grinned and started chuckling. "No need. What Shiro lacks in aggression, Yochihakaisha makes up for him." His head hurt for a moment as he felt Yochi kick him mentally.

"All right. Let's go to my school. Right now, Kon is probably messing up, and I know the perfect guy to help you." Ichigo said, smiling and scowling at the same time.

_'Seriously, how does he do that?'_

"**Years of practice, I guess.**"

The two of them took off, their Bankai fading off as they ran. After a few seconds of running they arrived at the school. Apparently, they were a little too late. The entire grounds were empty.

"Guess he's not here anymore." Ichigo said.

"Think so. The entire place is empty." Enma agreed.

"What's that? I've never seen either of you give up so fast." a voice spoke from a nearby hall. Enma's eyes widened as he recognized it. "Kensei!" he said, running towards the source of the voice.

As soon as he walked into the hall, Enma felt a reiatsu to his left, and he drew his sword to stop the black army knife that was meant to slit his throat. The pressure was removed from his blade as he looked up to the tall, gray-haired, brown-eyed man standing in front of him. "Hey. You've gotten a lot stronger." Muguruma Kensei said. "Kensei! Bro, you have no idea how much I've missed you!" Enma said, sheathing his sword and embracing his long-lost brother.

"Wait, what?" Ichigo said, looking absolutely flabbergasted. "Kensei is your brother? But your last name is Kasei, and his is Muguruma, and... and..."

Enma cut in. "I changed my name shortly after he disappeared. I was starting to believe he was dead. Never thought I would find him here."

"Enma." Kensei said, grinning his typical menacing grin and peeling his brother off his chest. "You've gotten a lot stronger, Kisuke told me."

"Kisuke? You mean, he knew where you were? And he knew I was your brother? Why didn't he tell me?"

"Because I asked him not to. We've got to be careful. Our very presence here goes in against the Soul Society's judgment."

"What? We? Who else is with you?" Enma asked, now looking just as confused as Ichigo.

"You'll see. Ichigo, come with us. I'd like you to accompany us there."

"Where are we going?" Enma asked.

"You'll see. You'll see."

**Well, that was an interesting change of events! Enma's finally been reunited with his brother! But what is going to do now? Not a clue. I don't really have a plan when I start writing. It just flows out. Well, see you next chapter! And again,**

**I do not own Bleach or anyone else than Enma, Billy, Yochihakaisha, Shiro, the Halcones etc., but even they are based off the Bleach universe. Viz owns Bleach, together with JUMP. If any of my characters resembles someone, it's a coincidence. If it resembles you... DEAL WITH IT! **

**Thank you very much.**

The first sentence means: Abyssal beast, rise and fight. The second sentence says: rage against the dying of the light.

Yochihakaisha Akuma: World Destroyer Demon

Esbirro: Minions; Henchmen

Kaken Jemuhou: Mirror Blade Gem Gun

Diablo: Devil

Demonio: Demon (duh)

Senken Raiso: Thousand Blade Lightning Spear


	9. Chapter 9: Fangmask

Two blades clashed, sending sparks flying everywhere. Kurosaki Ichigo's Tensa Zangetsu was easily pushed back by the horrid, bat-like creature before him. It held a jagged katana with sickly purple flames coming off it. A cero, red with black edges, formed in front of its mouth. With a terrifying, high pitched screech, quite unusual for a hollow, the blast was fired towards Ichigo, who quickly Hollowfied and held up his sword. Immediately he felt his power being drained from him.

**Several hours earlier.**

Kasei Enma, Muguruma Kensei and Kurosaki Ichigo walked into a run-down warehouse.

"So, this is where you've been staying the last century?" Enma said with a chuckle. He looked around. "Charming. But according to your words earlier, you weren't alone. Enlighten me."

Both Ichigo and Kensei were silent. "What is it, guys?" Enma asked. An uneasy feeling approached him. He put his hand on the pommel on his katana.

Without warning, everything around him went black. He shifted his left hand from the pommel of his blade to just underneath where his sword's tsuba would have been, if Yochihakaisha would have had one. He brought his right hand to the hilt of his Zanpakutou. The dark feeling grew stronger, and the idea popped up that it might be the result of someone's focused reiatsu. Enma closed his eyes and concentrated on his surroundings. He didn't mind losing his eyesight, because it was completely dark anyway.

Immediately, he ducked and felt the tips of his hair get cut off. With a single, flowing move he pulled out his katana with his right hand and lunged at the strange, twisted reiatsu in front of him. Only for a moment, he opened his eyes and saw things were still dark. He couldn't see a thing. Hoping his mysterious enemy was just as blind as he was, he held his left hand under his blade and whispered softly: "Hado #34. **Aokakiba**!"

A green blast of fire was shot straight into the gut of his foe. His opponent was flung backwards, but the blast hardly did any damage. _'That's one tough motherhumper...'_ he thought. The flash showed him his opponent. He couldn't see much else than two short ponytails sticking out from behind a demonic mask. He swiftly sheathed his Zanpakutou and held it over his head and to release it.

"**Break the foundations of the world**! **Yochihakaisha**!" he shouted. The hilt and sheath fused together and extended into a long staff. "**Kaen**!" he whispered. The staff cracked and burst into flame. Enma spun the staff around over his head and stopped as soon as the axe had formed itself. With the low amount of light, he saw more of his opponent. She (he judged from the young appearance and ponytails) was wearing a red training suit.

He tried to use Shunpo to get behind his opponent but his slash was easily deflected by a backwards block. He took a step backwards, held the axe behind him and shouted: "**Dokihi**!" sending a blast of fire towards his opponent. He was staggered when she deflected it with a single hand. "Bankai!" Enma yelled, stabbing the staff into the floor. Fire and lightning erupted from the staff and dust swirled up everywhere. He came charging out of the cloud, fully armed and damn pissed.

His first slash was deflected, but his opponent left her side open. An armored, white boot hit her under the ribs, but didn't seem to do anything. Enma jumped back and held his fingers forward. "Hado #63! **Raikoho**!"

A flash of yellow energy shot forward. Enma's foe opened her mouth and a Cero charged. It fired, and the two attacks hit with a blinding explosion. Enma quickly used his Kaken Jemuhou to block the explosion. After the explosion had subsided, he dropped the shield. His mysterious enemy was just standing there, still unharmed.

"Come on. Let your inner hollow take over. Without him, you can't win. Or are you afraid? Afraid of being consumed?" she said, taunting him. Enma stood still. The fire on his blade started fading. "You want to fight him? You really want to die that badly? Fine." They were now standing in complete darkness. "**Here we go.**" he said, letting Shiro take control.

With a single Flash Step, he was behind his enemy. Shiro plucked her off the ground as if she was a feather, stabbed his sword into the ground and slammed her on the arm. A clang resounded through the darkness as the katana was dropped on the hard floor.

The lights went on, and Shiro found 8 blades resting on several vital points in his body. Tachikaze and Zangetsu were two of them.

"Don't even move an inch, or you're dead." a man with a cap said.

"Whoah, whoah. Chill out. I'm in control, don't worry." Enma said, his mask dropping on the floor. "But I've got to admit, I wasn't expecting to find you here, Shinji. As you can clearly see, I'm in full control of myself, so if you'd please get your Zanpakutou off my throat, I'd appreciate it."

"You drop Hiyori first." Shinji said. Enma looked up to his hand and saw that he was still holding the girl by the neck of her shirt. "Whoops." he said, putting her down. "My wrong." His face split open into a grin. "Why am I not surprised they sent you to attack me?"

Hiyori took her mask off, revealing a grin as wide as Enma's. "Still as annoying as always, aren't you, dirtbrain?"

"Shut it, snaggletooth." Enma replied, his grin widening. It was good to see Hiyori again after so long. Even though they always picked fights, they were good friends 100 years ago.

Enma looked around and saw that a large part of the people who had disappeared so long ago were there. He felt a small sting when he saw that Todo and the others were missing. He had hoped they would have survived too.

He turned his attention back to the others, but noticed too late that a white-and-green object came flying at him. Mashiro headbutted him full in the stomach and even though he was wearing armor, she sent him rolling through the warehouse. "Mashiro?" Enma said, grabbing the green-haired girl by the shoulders. He laughed and embraced her. "It's been way too long!"

Enma hadn't been happier in his entire life. His brother, friends whom he thought were dead... To find all of them, and more, here in the World of the Living was everything Enma could ever have hoped for.

Enma laughed as he got up. "So, you guys have been stuck here all this time? I... hope you guys know what's going on in the Soul Society?"

Shinji grinned. "Of course we do. We know everything about the Hogyoku, Aizen and the Arrancar."

"Good. I wouldn't want to have to explain it to you. But what I really want to know is what really happened 100 years ago. I was told the Hogyoku did it, but according to my information, the Hogyoku was in Urahara's possession at that time." Enma said, his curiosity getting the better of him.

Kensei and the others told him everything about Aizen's experiments, how it wasn't the Hogyoku, but some kind of virus developed by Aizen, what role Tosen and Gin had played, how Urahara, Yoruichi and Tessai had saved them and then housed them in Karakura Town.

"Whew. That was a lot of information at once." Enma said. "But how are you going to help me control my inner hollow?"

"You said he had regained his sanity. He has to let them go again and try to take over your body. You will fight him inside of your soul, while we keep him busy up here." Shinji said. "It's dangerous, but it's the only way you can make sure he will be calmed down. Right now, even though he is peaceful, we can't be certain if he will stay that way."

Enma frowned. "What if he lets go and loses his sanity permanently? I'm pretty sure that's not good."

"It's the only way." Kensei said. Enma shrugged. "Fine. Let's go." he said, getting up, but before he was on his feet, a hand appeared before his face and he felt his body grow limp as he fell to the floor. "And so it begins..." Shinji said.

Enma opened his eyes. He was lying on the sideways tree trunk again. He looked to his left and to his right and saw neither Yochihakaisha nor Shiro. He got up and jumped from tree to tree whilst looking for the two spirits. He sensed something to his left and stopped in his tracks, solidifying reishi under his feet with but a thought. He had stopped just in time, because a blast of red fire came flying from his left and burned everything in front of him. He looked in the direction the blast had come from and saw Shiro, a mad grin on his face. _'He's really plunged himself into madness, hasn't he?' _Enma thought, getting ready to release his Bankai.

Meanwhile, in the Vizard's basement, Enma's body stirred and got up with a horrid screech. The hollow mask was forming on his face, and he broke the binding spells that Ushoda Hachigen had placed on him. He looked around with a feral look in his dark golden eyes, and charged at a blond figure he saw standing there. Otorubashi "Rose" Rojuro dodged the attack gracefully and slashed Enma across the shoulder in a single flowing movement. The high-pitched screech sounded through the basement again as Enma stumbled and fell. The wound started bubbling and filled up with a white skin, which immediately grew dark gray fur.

"Instant regeneration..." Rose mumbled. "My, this will be interesting."

Back inside the sideways forest that was Enma's inner world, two imposing figures were locked in an epic struggle. One was Enma, wielding and wearing Yochihakaisha Akuma. The other warrior was Shiro, who also used Yochihakaisha Akuma, but with a different color-pattern. His armor was black with orange accents, and a reddish chainmail under it.

"**I should have done this so much sooner! You're weak! There's no way you can defeat me, and after I'm done with you here, I'll permanently take over your body and I'll eat everyone!**" Shiro said. He cackled madly, disengaged Enma by jumping back with a Sonido, and pointed his blade at Enma. "**Yochi hasn't shown you everything!**" the hollow shouted.

He started spinning around, and a circle of fire formed around him at the tip of his blade. Shiro stopped and raised his sword. The circle of fire moved along with his blade and stopped over his head. "**Usuken Dokihi**!" He slashed at Enma and the circle of fire started flying towards him like a saw blade, growing larger and larger with every passing moment. Enma quickly grabbed his armor plates, ripped them off and shouted: "**Kaken Jemuhou**!" The reflective shield was raised just in time and absorbed most of the blow before shattering and tossing Enma into a nearby branch. The armor formed on his body again. "**Do you hate me, Enma? You do, don't you? Yeah, you do! Because you know I'll devour everyone you love. Your brother, your friends, Tatsuki, everyone!**" He started spinning around again and shot the ring of fire at Enma again. He was hit head on and felt his consciousness slipping.

The possessed Enma screeched. His overly muscular upper body was covered in black fur, and two black wings sprouted from his back. He charged at Yadomaru Lisa and tried to claw her with his left hand. She simply sidestepped, ducked and slashed the back of his legs. Even if they weren't cut through half, they would still be broken. Several sick cracking noises sounded as Enma's knees inverted. He opened his mouth and a sickly pink Cero started charging. With a screech, he fired it towards Lisa. She put on her mask and deflected the attack. The mask faded again and she frowned. Shiro was strong. Stronger than the Vizard, including Ichigo, during training. It had never happened a Vizard actually had to Hollowfy. Love came close during Ichigo's training, but he never really had to.

The beast charged at her, and she dodged to the left. Swiftly, it swung around the long katana. Lisa was just able to jump backwards, although she did obtain a shallow wound around her midsection. Another screech, and Shiro/Enma charged forward again. This time, Lisa jumped away even further. A wise choice, it seemed, as the possessed Shinigami performed a ground-shattering downward strike where she had just stood.

Outside the barrier, Kensei frowned at what happened inside the barrier. "Don't worry. Enma'll be just fine." Aikawa Love said. "I know the kid. He'll be ready anytime now." Kensei's frown softened a little. "I know. He hasn't been in there for all that long. Hachi! How long has he been there?" he shouted. "22 minutes, 34 seconds!" Hachi said.

Enma blinked. He was lying in the courtyard of a ruined castle. He closed his eyes. _'What just happened...'_ he thought. He opened his eyes again, yelped and rolled to the side just before a blade split his skull. He was breathing heavily from the scare. Ricardo was standing there, his blade across his shoulder. "Yo." he said.

"What do you want, Paradiaca? What are you doing in my head?" Enma asked, clenching the jagged katana in his right hand. The green-haired Arrancar raised an eyebrow. "Who's Paradiaca? I'm here to kill you!" he said, storming forward. Enma was driven back by the force. "See?" the Arrancar asked. "You've grown even weaker! There's no way you can beat me! Ever since you've met that girl, you've been getting weaker, and now that you've found your brother again, you've finally lost all that strength you had! For a short time, you were actually strong, but now you just fear to lose everything you have now!"

Enma scowled, disengaged Ricardo and pointed his finger at him. He wasn't going to let some shit-talking image of the man he possibly hated most in the entire world beat him. "Hado #44!** Zokushintenraiho**!" A blast of blue lightning-like energy shot forward and hit Paradiaca straight in the stomach. He was thrown backwards into a nearby wall. "Not strong enough? You call it fear... But is it really that bad to hope your friends and family won't die? And even though it's not a good emotion, it still provides enough drive for me to kill you..." Enma said, his voice raw with anger. "I know what you are. You are my fear, manifested into a sentient being. You are fear and hate itself, and thus, you cannot win. You manifest yourself in the man I hate most, but you are nowhere near his strength." He raised his blade and cleaved the fragment of his mind through half, head to crotch. "I will defeat him, his friends, his master and Shiro, just like I beat you."

He opened his eyes, even though he didn't remember closing them. He was lying against the branch. Shiro flying towards him, blade pointed straight forward. Enma rolled off the tree, into one underneath him. Shiro jumped onto the tree and lunged at Enma, who blocked the sword with an armored left hand. He had beaten his fear. Time to beat his brooding hate. He reached deep into his mind, concentrated, and hoped the blast didn't take him out as well. He grabbed Shiro's sword arm, stabbed his own sword into the ground and put his right hand on Shiro's stomach. "You threatened to kill Tatsuki. Those who threaten her... Die by my hand! Hado #88! **Hiryugekizokushintenraiho!**"

Back outside, Ichigo was fighting Enma. _'Che. Damn those Vizards. Calling on me to do their dirty work. I know they could have done this without me. Shinji's probably just too lazy to do it himself. Still... Enma is a good friend, and I know how much he means to Tatsuki.'_ he thought. He remembered his own Vizard training very well. His inner hollow overpowering him completely and then stabbing him, the short fight against his instincts manifested into an image of Kenpachi, his subsequent stabbing of his Inner Hollow and the explosion his defeat caused. He jumped backwards as what seemed like a red, black edged Cero was formed on the beings mouth.

Ichigo jumped back and Hollowfied just before the beast released the Cero with another shriek. He blocked the attack with Tensa Zangetsu but felt his power being drained from him. He looked at the mask on Enma's face. The red-tipped fangs looked terrifying, and Ichigo had seen their biting force when Enma had blocked a strike to the head from Hiyori simply by biting down on the blade. The top-left of his face was still open. Strands of gray, wet hair were hanging over a hollowfied, scowling eye. The beast lunged again, and Ichigo blocked. He felt the strike was stronger than before the Cero.

"Berry-tan! Switching time!" Mashiro shouted from the other side of the barrier. With a single Flash Step, Ichigo was outside the barrier again, and saw Mashiro running in. He quickly returned into his body and walked up to the group. "Che. I still think it wasn't necessary to drag me along. Give me one good reason." Ichigo said, stopping next to Kensei and Love.

"The reason is inside that barrier. Enma... he is strong. Stronger than the rest of us, for some reason. Maybe because his hollow was given so much time to grow in power." Love said. Kensei grunted. "I'm up next. He may be my brother, but there will be no holding back." Ichigo sighed. "That might be the most reasonable thing I have ever heard from you guys."

Shiro grabbed his stomach. Enma's Kido had blown a huge wound into his abdomen. Enma himself was grabbing his broken right arm. The knockback of the spell had broken his bones at at least two different places. He still considered himself lucky that the spell hadn't taken him out completely. He silently thanked Yochihakaisha, grunted and grabbed his blade with his unharmed hand. He walked up to the kneeling Shiro and put his blade on his throat. "You have dived into madness. Return now. You have been defeated, and I understand it. I understand you, how your very existence is agonizing for you. Calm down. Let your raging mind come to rest. Relax. Let go of that madness." Enma said, removing his blade from Shiro's throat. He had confidence his friend would return. He would be fine. No worries. That madman wasn't Shiro. Shiro would come back.

For a moment, Shiro's arms twitched. Then, the mad flicker in his eyes died down and calm washed over his face. "**E... Enma?**" he said, a stunned expression on his face. "**I'm sorry. I shouldn't have called you weak, and I shouldn't have threatened you and your friends. It's just that...**" "Chill out" Enma cut in. "I've already forgiven you. The person I just fought wasn't you. That was a hollow. You're Shiro, my friend." he said with a tired grin. "But I think I should get out of here the rest must be worried." Enma closed his eyes.

Enma opened them and felt a cold object on his face. He noticed a horrid, broken, bat-like form lying in front of him. Then, he suddenly felt tired. He didn't even have enough energy left to stand up. He fell forward and the mask fell off his face and rolled away. It stopped at Kensei's feet. He picked it up and it crumbled in his hands. "How are you feeling, Enma?" Shinji asked.

"Been worse." he answered, his face in the dirt. "In fact, I've never felt any better. Mentally, that is. My body feels like it's been cut up and smashed. Probably has been." He sat up and ran a hand through his gray hair. He looked at his hand, and it was wet with sweat and blood. "You guys really did a number on me." he said with a grin.

Hachi walked up to him. "Could you please lie down again?" the huge man said. "I'll restore your reiatsu. You'll feel a lot better." Enma nodded. His mind felt like a party, but his body felt like the next morning's hangover. He laid back down and relaxed. He felt his reiatsu slowly being restored as he fell into a dreamless sleep.

Orihime and Tatsuki were sitting on the riverbank. They both had been staring at the water for about 15 minutes. "Orihime..." Tatsuki said. "I... have to tell you something." Orihime looked up. "What is it?" she asked with her usual smile. Orihime had always told Tatsuki everything. Well... almost everything, although she probably wouldn't have believed it if Orihime would have told her about the Soul Society invasion. Now, it was time to tell her.

"I know everything." she said, looking at the grass. "About the Soul Society, the Arrancar, the Shinigami, Hollows, Ichigo's involvement in it all, Enma's involvement in it all, your involvement in it all..." She stopped and looked at Orihime. She was silent for a moment. "Well... I should have expected so. You and Enma have become so close these past days..." she said. "Do you know where he is, by the way? I haven't seen for in a while now."

Tatsuki wondered that herself. Where was that guy? "I don't know. The last time I saw him, he left with a guy he called Renji. Said something about a Menos Grande attack." she said. "Huh?" Orihime said, surprised. "The attack? That was the last time you saw him? But... I saw him use a Bankai and fighting this really strong person... he almost died if it wouldn't have been for Ichigo..."

Tatsuki's eyes widened. "He almost died? Enma, that idiot! Orihime, do you have any idea where he is?" she shouted, getting up. Orihime got up too and said: "Have you checked the Urahara Shop?" Tatsuki nodded. "Wait... he left with Ichigo? I... maybe I have an idea." she said with a serious face. "Then what are we waiting for?" Tatsuki yelled. Orihime started running, and Tatsuki ran after her. "Enma... He really means much to you, doesn't he?" Orihime asked. Tatsuki was silent for a moment. "Yeah..." she said, her voice full of sadness.

Usuken Dokihi: Swirling Blade Fire Rage

Zokushintenraiho: Heaven-Shaking Thunder Cannon


	10. Chapter 10: Red Letter Day

**Hey guys and gals! Sorry I haven't uploaded in such a long time. I've just been so busy with school, and I'm writing a new story on . A friend of mine who is in fact in art school has agreed to make designs of Enma. I hope he'll have them done soon, 'cause I can't wait to see them!**

Enma breathed in deeply, held it for a moment and blew back out. A burst of purple flames erupted from his mouth and solidified on his face, forming a bestial mask. He charged at his sparring partner and rained stabs down onto her blade. Lisa blocked them with speed matching his own, a process that had been repeating for the last few hours. Silently, Kensei watched it all happen. The mask had changed slightly since he had secretly watched Enma's Bankai training. Instead of three small markings under his left eye, there were now three large claw-like markings running diagonally across his entire face from the upper right to the lower left. Enma swung Yochihakaisha at Lisa, who dodged it and slashed at his exposed abdomen. Enma did a sideways flip over the blade and attacked again. Meanwhile, Ichigo and Hiyori were training behind them too.

"He's really holding on to that mask, isn't he?" Shinji asked Hachi, who nodded.

"He has only just defeated his inner hollow, and he can already hold the mask longer than Ichigo." the huge man answered. He looked at the stopwatch in his hands. He raised his eyebrows. "He can already hold it even longer than Love and Rose. He's passed the 10-minutes limit."

Shinji took off his hat and patted the dust off it. "Must be because of his good connection with his inner hollow. It won't be long until he will even be able to use advanced techniques such as Ceros." he said, putting his hat back on.

Kensei was sitting on a rock a little distance away from the group. A rustle from the top of the stairs prompted him to pull out Tachikaze. "Who's there?" he asked. His cautiousness turned into slight frustration as he saw two girls walking down the stairs. "Inoue. You have a habit of barging in on our training sessions. And you must be Arisawa Tatsuki. Enma told us about you." he said and pointed at the rest of the group. "Go talk to Shinji or Hachigen if you want to see him."

Orihime bowed. "Thank you, Kensei." she said, and walked towards the Vizard.

Tatsuki walked up to the tall man. "So... You're Enma's brother, Kensei, huh?" she said. She noticed the resemblance between Enma and his brother. "He told me a lot about you. He... He really looks up to you." she said.

Kensei's frown didn't disappear, but his eyes softened a little. "Enma told me a lot about you too. He really cares about you." Kensei said, turning his head to the newest member of the Vizard.

"Did... Did he say that?" Tatsuki asked.

The gray-haired man shook his head. "Not literally, but I can read my little brother like an open book. His eyes... They tell me everything, even after 100 years."

They were interrupted by a masked figure appearing next to him. Enma slid the mask up onto his forehead like a helmet visor and said: "Yo, Tatsuki. 'Sup?"

At first, Tatsuki felt a little unnerved by the deep golden eyes with black sclera looking at her. Then she realized this was Enma. His voice sounded ragged and metallic at the edges, but this was Enma, not that hollow. Then, her relief turned into anger. A lot of it. Even with his mask, Enma could only just duck underneath her fist as she yelled: "What's up? You disappear without a trace going to a fight and the last thing I hear from you is that you almost died! That's what's up! You could have at least contacted me! Do you know how worried I was? For all I-"

She stopped yelling as Enma embraced her. "I'm sorry. I was an idiot not to tell you. It was stupid." he said. "It's just that... I knew you would come and find me. During my training here I... changed. I didn't want you to see me like that." Enma let her go again. "Don't worry. I'll be fine." he said, putting the mask back on to his face. "I think I'll be back soon."

Enma flash stepped behind Lisa, attacking her and continuing his training. Orihime beckoned Tatsuki to come to the rest of the Vizard. She introduced her to the group. After the introductions, Mashiro jumped in front of Tatsuki. "So, you're Enma's girlfriend!" she said, examining her face. It sounded more like an announcement than a question.

"Not... Not really..." Tatsuki said. She felt a little awkward as she was examined by the green-haired, strangely dressed girl.

Mashiro was picked off the ground by Love, who said: "Behave your age, Mashiro. That's not how you talk to our guests." He put the sputtering girl down and said: "Sorry for her behaviour. She pokes her nose into anything concerning either Enma or Kensei."

"So you already knew him?" Tatsuki asked.

Love nodded. "Of course. If you're the captain's brother and a close friend of several vice-captains, you'll meet the other officers on occasion. The kid had enough talent to be a vice-captain. Shame he joined the 11th. He's nothing more than some outcast there."

Tatsuki raised an eyebrow. "He didn't tell you? He's 8th seat of the 9th Division now."

Love looked surprised. "Oh? That's good news. He's back in the 9th. It's being run by their Vice-Captain, isn't it?"

Tatsuki nodded. "So I heard. The old captain, Tosen, left with Aizen, leaving Vice-Captain Hisagi in charge."

"Hisagi?" Kensei asked. "Jeez, that kid? First and last time I saw him, he was being attacked by a hollow. I saved his ass some days before our little accident."

Mashiro jumped up again. "The crybaby from back then? I can't really imagine him as a Vice-Captain..."

"That, Mashiro," Kensei said: "is because your brains only go so far before short circuiting."

As Kensei started bickering with Mashiro again, Shinji said: "Enma's good. He can already hold his mask longer than most of us. He trusts that hollow, so much that he thoughtlessly lets him take over."

"I saw it... The first time he was taken over. He was KO'd while training for his Bankai and Shiro took his chance. He seemed pretty hostile, but his intentions were good." Tatsuki said.

"We heard the story." Shinji said. "Unbelievable... A hollow with rational thought. Mashiro can keep up her mask for over 15 hours, but then her hollow quits and syncs out. If my expectations are correct, Enma will be able to hold his mask for as long as he wants once he has the synchronization completely under control."

Kensei sighed. "Only one way to find out. We're just going to have to wait."

Shinji grinned and said: "And we all know how much you like that."

Tatsuki sighed. "I hate to say this, but we have to leave. We have to get back to school..."

She greeted everyone as she and Orihime left the building.

So the Vizard waited. After a few times, Enma had the transformation under control. They waited and watched as Enma trained for two days. The mask didn't go down even once.

"Training's over, I guess." Enma said. "I can hold the mask for two days at end, and I feel like I can hold it up for much longer."

"Don't get overexcited." Kensei said. "You may be able to hold your mask for days, but don't forget, this is in training. You won't know for sure until you fight a real battle."

"Che. If I know Paradiaca for even a little, he'll be back soon." Enma said. He got up, patted the dirt off his Shihakushou and grinned. "This time, I don't just have Yochihakaisha to back me up. Shiro'll be there too. We'll kick his ass."

Kensei grunted. "Still as confident as a century ago... Good thing you haven't changed a bit, kid."

"If I wouldn't have been so confident, I wouldn't have come here. I'd have cowered out of Captain Zaraki's proposition." Enma scratched his chin. "I have to thank him next time I see him."

"Oh, come to think of it, Tatsuki wanted you to meet her at her house once your training was over. Go fetch your Gigai at Urahara's." Kensei said.

Enma nodded and walked towards the stairs. He stopped for a moment and said: "Bro?"

"Yeah?" Kensei answered

"Good to see you guys again." he said as he walked up the stairs. He walked outside and sniffed the fresh air before dashing off to the Urahara Shop.

"You weren't speaking the truth when you said he hadn't changed." Shinji said.

Kensei shook his head. "True. He's matured a lot since back then. Let's hope he's grown enough."

Enma was dashing across the roofs of Karakura town. He felt the wind running through his hair and the sun in his face. He had grown stronger, much stronger than he had ever hoped, and he had found so much in the human world. New friends, old friends, his brother, Tatsuki... Then his little moment of bliss was interrupted by the presence of multiple hollows close by.

He sighed. First time he could relax in a long time, and it was interrupted by some hollows. He felt some frustration coming up and decided to go vent it on the hollows that had caused it. He unsheathed his sword and dashed towards the hollows' location. He released his Zanpakutou and impaled the first hollow on the wooden shaft. "You pissed me off. You won't like me now I'm angry."

Three other hollows noticed Enma and lunged at him, but before they could reach him, they were blasted into oblivion by a Soukatsui fired by the gray-haired Shinigami. Enma spun the staff around over his head and said: "**Kaen**!"

In a blazing whirlwind, the axe took form. Enma dashed towards the rest of the hollows and slashed the head of the first one off. He jumped over the second, splitting him in two at the same time. He tossed the staff upwards and grabbed the lower tip. He started spinning the axe around and said: "**Dokihi**!" The last of the hollows were burned to a crisp and Enma sighed. "That was fun!" he said and resealed Yochihakaisha. Now that the hollows were dead, he felt a lot better.

He almost released his Zanpakutou again as reality was distorted a few yards in front of him. A Garganta opened and a man with crimson hair stepped out. The top half of his face was covered by a mask which looked eerily like a human skull. He looked at him and asked: "Are you Kasei Enma?"

Enma nodded. "That's me, Arrancar-san. And your name is?"

The Arrancar laughed. "You are well mannered. Not a surprise my master holds you in such high esteem. After you killed his other two servants, he started taking greater interest in you."

Enma's eyes narrowed to slits. "You work for Paradiaca?" he said, and his left hand moved to the pommel of his Zanpakutou.

"My, my, no need for aggression, now." the Arrancar said. "First, I will answer your first question. My name is Daegoronn. Daegoronn Hova. Second, I need to bring you a message. My master desires a fight. One-on-one, to prove who is the stronger one."

"Che. Why should I trust it? Last time I met him, he sent his minions after me. Give me one good reason to come to your little meeting." Enma answered.

Hova laughed. "So distrustful... There is no need for that, now. Tell me, what do I have to do to gain your trust."

Enma thought for a moment. "Swear a blood oath you will not hurt anyone I care about."

The Arrancar sighed and said: "Fine. If that's what it takes." He pulled his Zanpakutou, a small war-axe, from his back and put the blade in his hand. Without flinching, he made a small cut in his hand. The blood dripped to the ground as he said: "I swear I will never hurt anyone you care about."

Enma felt a little worried. Pradiaca must be confident about his abilities if he thinks he can win one-on-one. Still, that green-haired bastard had the advantage of knowing the terrain. He shoved all of his worries aside and decided the gain would be worth the risk. "I'll do it."

"Good." Hova answered. "He wants you to meet him tonight, at six. Near the local graveyard lies a cave. In the deepest part, my master will be waiting for you. Don't worry about getting lost. Just trust your senses."

Enma frowned. No-one would find out should he meet his end there. "Fine. Any other details I need to know?"

Hova smiled deviously. "No. You are free to leave."

"You're giving me permission?" Enma looked around for a moment and laughed. "I see. Your so-called 'master' thinks he has power over me. Well, next time you see him, you can tell him to shove his delusions up his ass."

Hova simply laughed as he turned around and walked into a Garganta that opened right behind him. The last thing he said before it closed was: "Do not let this be the last time we meet."

The Garganta closed and Enma stared into the emptiness for a moment, wondering what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into now.

Tatsuki was sitting in her room. Enma was supposed to meet her at her house this morning, but it was already five 'o clock. Her parents were out of town again for business and she felt a little lonely. She was starting to sink away into her thoughts when she heard the bell ring downstairs. Tatsuki dashed to the door, wondering if it could be Enma. She opened the door, but instead of Enma, she saw Orihime standing there. On one hand, she was happy it was her best friend, but on the other hand she was slightly disappointed Enma hadn't shown up yet.

"Oh, hey Orihime. What's up?" she asked.

Orihime was practically jumping with excitement as she said: "I saw Enma! He was sitting on a roof a few blocks away, just staring off into the distance!"

Tatsuki felt a little confused. "Are you sure? He would meet me here when he was done training. What's he doing on some roof?"

Orihime put her head in her hand and said: "Well... Maybe the Vizard forgot to tell him. They're lax like that, you know."

Tatsuki nodded, but she knew it was something else. Enma only ever spaced off when he was thinking about important stuff. "Let me just grab my jacket, we'll go get him."

Enma was sitting on a roof. He didn't know whose roof, and he couldn't care less. The only thing on his mind was the upcoming battle. The question whether he could do this, would have once been ringing through his head like a church bell. Now, it was but a tiny voice in a sports crowd yelling victory cries. A familiar voice shouted his name and he snapped out of his little trance. He looked down with a grin and waved at the two girls. "Hey!" he shouted and got up. He jumped down to the ground and said: "Tatsuki. I'm sure you wonder why I didn't directly go to your house."

Tatsuki nodded. "I've been waiting for you for quite a while." she answered, her eyebrows knitted together in a frown.

"Something... came in between." Enma said with a sigh. He hesitated for a moment, wondering if he should make up an excuse. After a moment, he decided just to tell them. "I've been challenged to a fight. This evening, in the graveyard cave. Paradiaca will be waiting for me."

Tatsuki and Orihime were dumbstruck. That was very sudden. Enma had hardly completed his training and he was already planning a fight with someone as strong as Ricardo Paradiaca?

Enma sighed. "Don't worry about me. I'm not alone." With these words, 3 different reiatsus pulsed off his body. One very primal but strong. Enma's own reiatsu. The second felt like a chained animal, aggressive and barely controlled. That was Yochihakaisha's reiatsu. The last pulse inspired a dreadful feeling which seemed to drain the energy from their bodies. Shiro's presence. "He's no match for the three of us." That was all. End of discussion. Tatsuki knew him well enough to know that, whatever she was going to say, nothing would stop him.

"Don't worry. I've still got some time left before I have to meet him." Enma was silent for a second, and then he grinned. "To be honest, I'm actually looking forward to it. And after my training... There's no doubt whether I'll win."

For a moment Tatsuki was worried, but then, as she saw the confident grin, all the worries faded and she said: "Okay. I'll trust you on this, but you'll have to promise me you'll come back."

Enma nodded. "I will. But if I want to be in time, I have to go now." He waved at the two girls and disappeared with a soft _swish_.

Tatsuki sighed loudly. Orihime looked at the distant graveyard on the hill and said: "Don't worry. He'll be back."

Her friend shook her head. She thought of how Ichigo had been thrown into a deep depression after he barely drove off the two attacking Arrancar from several weeks ago."It's not that I'm worried about him coming back, it's that I'm worried that this will change him." she said.

Enma appeared in front of the cave, his presence cloaked as well as he could. He closed his eyes and let his senses scan the cave. A grin appeared on his face. He could sense the Halcones' reiatsu deep inside the cave, but the well-hidden presences of a small army of hollows was present as well. Silently, Enma released his Zanpakutou and donned his mask. Without a sound he dashed into the cave.

**Well, that was it again. My goodness, I really need to calm down. I'm working on, like, five different ideas at the same time, and most of them still need to be published... God... Well, see ya next time! Oh, yeah, press the shiny 'Review this Chapter' button and get yourself a cookie. KTHXBAI!**


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